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8/8/17: The Full Moon in Aquarius was yesterday, 8/7, at 2:12pm EDT with a partial lunar eclipse opposite the Sun at 15 degrees Leo. Conjunct the Sun at 11 degrees Leo was Mars, lending fiery energy and vigor to an already heated position of the Sun. The 15 degree placement of the Sun in Leo, a fixed sign, is what’s known as a “cross-quarter” day, marking the halfway point between the Summer Solstice and the Autumn Equinox. Yesterday was the turning point between summer and fall, which will officially be here 9/22.

There was also a Fire Grand Trine in the sky at the time of the Full Moon between Uranus Rx in Aries, North Node in Leo, and Saturn Rx in Sagittarius. This trine was here to remind us not to get off track with BS when we’re trying to focus on moving forward in life, whether as a person or as a society. Are you getting distracted by nonsense? Are you finding yourself wasting time getting lost in the mazes of your mind and overthinking irrelevant details (Mercury in Virgo) instead of rooting into your original resolutions? Time to get back on board with your actions and mental awareness; rethink for a minute what you set out to accomplish in the first place, and burn away anything that isn’t useful in that pursuit.

Not a part of the Grand Trine but in the equation was Lilith in Sagittarius conjunct Saturn Rx and trine North Node in Leo. We are individually, and thereby collectively, in the midst of a major rebalancing of the feminine-masculine polarities. Lilith is the shadow side of our feminine aspects (which we ALL have) and conjunct Saturn she is empowered with resolve and determination, ready to be in charge of what she’s supposed to be running. Remember, key word here is BALANCE…and we are out of it. Saturn Rx in Sag is still bringing us the truth with frank delivery and we really should pay attention if we’d like things to get better. What truths in your life about feminine-masculine energy imbalances have you seen lately? They could be anywhere, in anyone, in various forms. This polarity can be felt in examples of darkness vs light (eclipses, for one), receptiveness vs assertiveness, nurturing vs destroying, wet vs dry, intuitive vs analytical, quiet vs loud, etc. In some or all of those areas, which is stronger for you? How could you balance them – or allow them to balance themselves?

Quick preview of the full solar eclipse: Lilith and Saturn Rx will be exactly conjunct, so everything just mentioned will intensify.

One last bit of technicality was a Yod (finger of God) with Pluto Rx in Capricorn sextile Neptune Rx in Pisces and both quincunx the Sun in Leo. And right in the middle of the sextile is the partially eclipsed Full Moon in Aquarius, opposite the Sun in Leo. We’re very much in a time of ego versus humanitarianism - of having that actual choice, for each of us, every day. We are uniquely situated in history to come together on a large scale – globally – for the betterment of humankind, our planet, and everything on it. But our damn egos, those are usually the problem. We’re either over-asserting them or under-asserting them. Maybe our lesson in this day and age is to figure out how to each be uniquely ourselves yet at the same timeblend harmoniously with each other and the Earth. Jupiter in Libra agrees. My guess is most people don’t want to live lives that make them feel like robots or automatons, but there has to be middle ground between that option and the complete narcism that is promising to be the downfall of life on this planet…literally. Oh, but not to worry - WE likely won’t be afflicted with apocalyptic extinction; just our children and grandchildren – the next few generations – will. We get to indulge in the safe fantasy of it through movies and tv shows. Whew, that was close.

Mercury will be retrograde from 8/12 until 9/5, fyi.

The Big Kahuna full solareclipse that I imagine you’ve heard of by now is coming on 8/21/17 at the New Moon in Leo, time of appearance varying according to where you will be located. Here in CLT it should occur at 2:31pm EDT. We will be just outside of the main path of the eclipse but should be able to see 98% occlusion. There are some interesting astrological triggers that will be pulled at the solar eclipse, which I’ll get to in another post closer to then.

7/10/17: One of my favorite things about reading energy is it is all about the moment. Right here, right now. It’s very Buddhist. That’s partly why I have a difficult time recalling details from readings; when I’m in the moment I’m channelling and there is a purity to that, because to authentically be a conduit, as much as possible of my own stuff has to be removed, on hold, or muted. It’s an understatement that I’m regularly surprised when people say “Remember when you told me (fill in the blank)?” and I don’t. Ever had too much to drink and heard afterwards what you said/did? Or maybe been pre-or-post-surgery with anesthesia? It’s somewhat like that but spiritual: God-dess drunk.

Plenty of energy was funneling in leading up to the Full Moon in Capricorn that just happened at 12:08am EDT on 7/9/17, and it was – not to get too technical – a bit of a fuckstorm. If a usually benign event could go wrong, it did. Emotionally, for sure, but also physically; I had personal possessions stolen due to the carelessness of others who had no ill intentions, our grill stopped working just before cooking for visiting family which led to another series of events, keys (not mine but a family member’s) were freakishly misplaced causing several days worth of craziness and rerouting due to that happening on vacation, tempers ran high, completely unrelated apocalyptic thoughts were thunk, etc., etc. Btw, all of those are Cancer triggers: what you possess (monetarily related), cooking (stomach/food/nourishing self and others), keys and vacation (again, monetary possessions and home), and tempers/thoughts (inner house, ie., psyche). And, the items stolen were beach-related, which is all about Cancer energy: waves, the ocean, water, etc.

At the moment of the Full Moon, intense Pluto Rx and the emotional Moon were conjunct in stalwart Capricorn, both opposite fighting Mars and the hero Sun in sensitive Cancer, and they were all square burgeoning Jupiter in picky Libra.

Quite a combination.

Saturn and Lilith were both in Sagittarius, thankfully, to remind us of humor, however dark – emphasized more with a Grand Fire Trine between Saturn in Sag, Uranus in Aries, and North Node in Leo.

If you have strong natal Cancer vibes (Sun, Moon, or Ascendant or lots in fourth house) in your birth chart, you probably took things personally. That’s ok. Cancers take things personally. Think about a bird who eats and then regurgitates to feed its young. There’s a good amount of allegorical context in that for Cancers; what energy from the world do you eat and then try to reprocess within yourself before putting it back out there to nourish those you love?For example, do you take everything that happens to you, even externally, as a consequence of who you are as a person and then after internalizing the “deeper meanings” of it all, allow your processing to change how you are as a person to those around you about whom you care?

This would be where your sense of humor, aided by the Grand Fire Trine, should kick in…because Cancer is water and Fire turns water into steam which is a great release. So blow off some steam, because laughter is the best medicine.

6/8/17: So how’d that look at heartbreak go for you over the past couple of months? Read the post from 3/30 if you want to review what I mean. Are you on the mend yet?

Tomorrow morning at 9:11am EDT is the Full Moon in Sagittarius, and just in case you still like to tell yourself everything isn’t connected, no - 9:11 is no coincidence. Just read the news (and anything on quantum physics). We are still very much dealing with energy and repercussions from that day. This Full Moon is Sag comes about an hour before Jupiter Rx in Libra turns direct and out of retrograde; remember, Jupiter rules Sagittarius. Here is an informative article on this specific cycle of Jupiter.

A Sagittarius Full Moon is like fireworks a month early - emotional fireworks, that is. The Moon communicates our emotions and Sagittarius is the philosopher, the teacher, the healer, the mentor at best…and the joker, the uncommitted, violent, the hedonist at worst. How are you feeling? How do you feel about the way you exhibit those roles/archetypes in life, or how others do?

When your emotions are welling up over the next few days, will you let them expand in the interest of higher good/higher learning or in self-satisfying/self-aggrandizing ways?

The thing about Sagittarius’s ruler, Jupiter, going direct in Libra is that whatever happens, can happen to us as socially - the effects can easily impact more than us as individuals. We are collectively seeking better balance, harmony, among ourselves. Saturn Rx conjunct this Full Moon is reiterating that we are in a moment of learning a lesson, or lessons. And Saturn Rx opposite Mars in Cancer is reminding us that being nurtured and nurturing go hand-in-hand; otherwise, someone is being used. Are you in a situation where you are the user or the used?That ok with you?

In another part of the sky, Venus in Taurus is pulling along the energy of Uranus in the last degrees of Aries and encouraging us to focus our will for the good of mankind and our inventive selves on loving the tangible, the sensual pleasures in life, the Earth. And Pluto Rx in Capricorn sextile Neptune in Pisces gives us more time to dream better ways to live and the tools to knock down and rebuild the structures in our lives that don’t fit those visions…before other people do that to us.

3/30/17: It’s been a few days since the Aries New Moon on 3/27. New Moons reset the energy for the following couple of weeks until the Full Moon and are times of retreat, times of quiet, and times of reverie…all things that aren’t the most natural expressions for Aries energy, the fiery warrior’s sign. This New Moon was heavily stacked in Aries, a cardinal (action-oriented) sign ruled by Mars (god of war).

The planets in lineup included Venus Rx, the Sun, the Moon (conjunct at 3, 7, and 7 degrees, respectively), and Uranus and Mercury (conjunct at 23 and 25 degrees, respectively). The Venus Rx/Sun/Moon conjunction was square Saturn in Sagittarius (another Fire sign), and the Uranus/Mercury conjunction was opposite Jupiter Rx in Libra and square Pluto in Capricorn to form a T-square.

When I approach reading a chart, I tend to look for overall themes or energies that resonate strongly. This one kept coming up to me as “the broken heart Moon”. The Moon represents our emotional side, but I don’t mean it was a sad Moon – rather, one that showed us wherever in our lives our hearts have been broken, the places that we just couldn’t get things to work. It didn’t do the breaking but showed us where the breaks already exist. The emotion around the New Moon doesn’t feel melancholy, but in true Aries style it feels like a frank look at a situation. And the Venus Rx/Sun/Moon conjunction was also trine Lilith in Sagittarius, which is like the Dark Queen/Kali laughing at us as she lifts her skirts just enough for us to remember where we all came from to keep us humble, respectful, and empowered. Everything is a cycle, and this point in the wheel is powered by honesty with ourselves.

Where in your life have you loved and lost? Do you feel the energetic shift telling you it’s time to see it, let it go, and move on?

Put down your sack, your burden, your baggage. It’s time to leave it and get on with the present unencumbered by whatever that was – our hearts can be broken by many things.

And you’re going to need a lighter load because Mercury is going retrograde again on April 9th until May 3rd, traveling from Taurus back into Aries. These two signs are the first in the zodiac and represent the fight for life (or fight of our life), new life, emergence, fertility, virility, feminine creativity, masculine strength and cunning, and manifestation of the material. Who needs old shit messing that up?

It’s about to be new-beginning time, and the past two Moons – the Full in Virgo and the New in Aries – have been urging us in their own ways to drop what we don’t need anymore and get moving on what we do.

All the sky can do is show us. It’s up to us to pay attention and take action. With Mars, the ruler of Aries, in earthy, grounded Taurus - we have the strength and potential of the virile bull and fertile cow on our side. It might take a lot to get going, but once set on a course, you can be virtually unstoppable.

3/12/17: The Full Moon in Virgo is this morning at 10:53am EDT, opposite the Sun, Chiron, and Mercury conjunction in Pisces and square Saturn in Sagittarius. The signs in this T-square are all mutable, lending a changeable quality to the energy of it. Another set of T-squares shows up at the Full Moon moment anchored by Pluto in Capricorn square Jupiter Rx in Libra, who is opposite Venus Rx and Uranus in Aries (not conjunct). These signs are all cardinal, lending an initiatory energy to them.

The T-square can act as an irritant, an itch to make us scratch, enough of a discomfort to make us readjust our position. The planet that’s square the others is the stimulant, the straw that breaks the camel’s back in the tension between the opposing planets. In the T-squares above, the stimulants are Saturn and Pluto, respectively. In mythology, Saturn/Cronos is Father Time, the titan who fathered many of the gods and goddesses of Mt. Olympus, including Jupiter/Zeus – the king of the gods who murdered his father to usurp power. Of course, in full mythological circle, Saturn/Cronos had murdered his father, Uranus, first. Patricide was kind of their thing; it’s nice to have traditions, I guess. Pluto/Hades was one of Saturn/Cronos’s kids, too. He went on to rule the Underworld.

In the current sky, the irritants of Saturn in Sagittarius (all truths will be revealed in time – and it’s time) and Pluto in Capricorn (destruction of the old power structure and creation of the new) are working to break the tensions of the Sun/Chiron/Mercury conjunction in Pisces opposite the Full Moon seeking emotional perfection in Virgo, and Venus Rx and Uranus points in Aries opposite Jupiter Rx are looking to expand harmony and balance in Libra. Let’s look at the mutable T-square first:

- the Virgo Full Moon represents our emotions of knowing what’s right, of having integrity and conviction, and standing our mental-emotional ground on things. The opposition that creates tension is to the trio in Pisces (Sun/Chiron/Mercury) representing our egos, our weak spots, and our thinking and communication – all in degrees in Pisces that are pretty difficult to deal with because they are immersed in shadow, doubt, fear, and malice. So we’ve got our “I know I’m right” feelings opposite our “everybody is out to get me and it’s all going to hell”worries that really do feel like reality. Now the crux, the fulcrum…Saturn in Sag. The truth will be revealed. This 27th degree of Sagittarius represents the tenuous balance between illusion and reality, and how ultimately all attempts at holding what’s real at bay will fail. This Full Moon is the tipping point for the flood that’s about to come.

Now let’s check out the cardinal T-square:

- the opposing points are Jupiter Rx in Libra to Venus Rx in Aries and Uranus in Aries. The energies of the degrees they’re in are startling in their potential; we have an open door, a blank canvas, a tabula rasa before us personally and collectively for what the future could look like. Our ability to expand our concepts, to open to possibilities, is the one factor that will determine how the future evolves. It’s vital we keep open minds and to not box ourselves in unnecessarily. The irritant here is Pluto in Capricorn, and at the 19th degree it is stalwart in its intention to move forward with karmic purpose. Mars in Taurus trine North Node in Virgo backs up this energy, and both push us forward to destiny. We have, individually and collectively, amassed countless karmic lessons over eons of incarnations, some remembered and some buried in our subconscious, but they’re still there. Want to see? Close your eyes and listen- receive like the antenna you are- for a minute. Connection is available and accessible whenever you’re ready to get real about it. With these T-squares, now’s a good time.

Bottom line? We are, which could surely be no surprise, in the midst of change. Truth keeps coming out of places like holes bursting in the dam, and there aren’t enough thumbs to plug them. But there shouldn’t be, because it’s time to deconstruct and reconstruct patterns and procedures, thoughts and policies. As ever, we’re primed for evolution but how is a choice. Maybe the entire dam should burst and the river should flow, but the ground should be cleared first. Our mental, emotional, and ego-based fears should be faced and embraced because so far ignoring them isn’t helping anything. Being “right” doesn’t matter much if we don’t transform our knowledge of the truth into action. And realizing the future is full of possibility doesn’t matter if we don’t combine our karmic intuition with common sense and practical planning.

What does that mean to you?

2/26/17: This morning at 9:58am EST was the New Moon in Pisces. We have alineup in Pisces of Mercury, the Moon, the Sun, Neptune, and Chiron. The Moon/Sun conjunction at 8 degrees* is the tie that bindsbetween Mercury and Neptune as they’re conjunct both, but Mercury and Neptune aren’t conjunct each other as they’re on either side of the Moon/Sun at 1 and 11 degrees, respectively. And wounded healer Chiron is hanging out alone at 23 degrees, staying a tense distance (square) from Saturn in Sagittarius who’s still keeping things real.

One sign over in Aries, Venus at 12 degrees is conjunct Mars and Uranus, both at 21 degrees, and all of them are square Pluto in Capricorn.

The bottom line? Vulnerability.

The challenge? Seeing, feeling, and accepting our weaknesses without succumbing to fatalism or martyrdom; understanding change and healing take time, and using our anger and fear positively to begin the process.

Jupiter Rx in Libra is opposite Mars/Uranus in Aries to re-emphasize this. And a T-square with Mercury in Pisces opposite North Node in Virgo, both square Lilith in Sagittarius, reminds us to keep speaking the truth and only the truth. All the wishy-washyness will subside in time. Surrender to the truth over any need to check out or please for the sake of pleasing.

Within the energy of Lilith is where the power of our divine feminine darkness awaits.

She’s the black of yin, the darkness of the universal womb, the point of creation before the light, our Kali; accepting what she offers gives us the strength to break through the egg, tear open the sack, rip open the cocoon. We all know our feminine energy gets things done.

It’s our destiny to evolve, devolve, and evolve again – remembering that we’re not only doing it for ourselves, but for everything.

*8 degrees of Pisces, where this New Moon resides, is esoterically described as such: “Dusk. A vampire awakens. Darkness calls to those who have been surfeited with too much compromise and too unbearable a load of suffering. There are regions of the dark to live out parts of self or all of self for a time. And inside the darkness, an immense power of what is here in the Earth and still raging can be felt and harnessed. You are imaginatively and inwardly pulled toward the great extremes – not able to go on in any usual way. But you ultimately fathom the mysteries and the depths, by exploring all that is there and finding in the end that all is sacred, all is beautiful, and all is integral to the fiber of existence.” - Inside Degrees by Ellias Lonsdale

12/13/16: The Full Moon in Gemini is tonight at 7:05pm EST, and will be part of an Air Grand Trine with Jupiter in Libra and Mars in Aquarius, and with that mental energy circulating we’re given a moment of power if we choose to use it. Air is the element of our thoughts and social interactions and expressed by three planets: the communicator (Mercury ruling Gemini), the lover (Venus ruling Libra), and the humanitarian/inventor (Uranus ruling Aquarius). With Mercury in Capricorn conjunct Pluto currently gridlocked in a T-Square with Uranus Rx in Aries and Jupiter in Libra, a LOT of Air is circulating (and stagnating) in the sky at present.

What are your daily priorities?

What are your conversation go-to’s, starters, and avoidances?

How are you balancing your anxieties, desires, and pleasures?

Those are some questions that can get the ball rolling for you on where you are mentally/emotionally right now. The Sun in Sagittarius is conjunctSaturn in Sag, which translates to “lesson time”. In its most balanced vibrations, Sagittarius energy reaches always for the truth, and does so without judgement. The connection of the Sun and Saturn is affecting our egos, our personal views of ourselves and others, and challenging them to be truthful.

Can you use this astrological moment of Air-driven mental power to do that?

If you’re afraid of anything, I’m going to answer that for you: nope. Welcome to the common human condition. So what do we do about it? The answer, of course, is to stop being afraid - to access our deepest fears within and release them so that we can embrace our whole, true selves and live in existential bliss. But since that isn’t happening for 99.999999% of the population, what’s our alternative?

No, really…I’m asking.

Because all of this fear that we have and are surrounded by is leading to really shitty things. A Gemini Full Moon is shining a lot of light on this; Gemini’s tend to be anxiety-ridden because their minds are constantly on the move. Ruled by the messenger god Mercury/Hermes, the only god to travel through all three dimensions (Mt Olympus, Earth, Hades), Gemini energy gives us access to tremendous insight if we can harness all the movement enough to listen to the messages. And the Moon energy is tied to our nurturing needs and wants and our emotional sides, so how we feel about what we hear, think, and speak is a big deal these next few days.

That brings us power, but also and always, responsibility.

Mars in Aquarius is headlining a plethora of positive energy in the sky for truthful expression that helps us as a society as much as on the individual scale, but will we use it? In time? Mercury in Capricorn goes retrograde next week from 12/19 until 1/8 (yes, Elvis’s bday – that’s for you, Beth ), so it’s very likely that whatever truths we see now will have to be reexamined, defended, and inspected in the next few weeks. So choose wisely.

11/15/16: So we just had the Super Moon. The Super-duper Moon, according to most posts on it. “Ooh..it’s big! Pretty! First time it’s been this close to Earth since 1948!”

I love the Moon; her glow, her darkness, her cycles, her meanings. But the significance this Full Super Moon in Taurus is illuminating for us now isn’t about size. As a society, as a world, we have some larger issues at present and she’s got a lot more to her than just being “pretty.” I needed a minute to process what this Moon means, and here’s what came through:

We’re in the midst of confronting our wolven natures.We’ve all heard the “Native American proverb” spinning the parable of two wolves fighting within each of us. Apparently, while the message is interesting, it’s Cherokee origin is complete bullocks. Soooo…rampant colonialism issues aside (sad sigh), the wolf theme is still really resonating with the energy and light shone down on us yesterday at 8:52am EST.

My mom told me my favorite music when I was little (two or three) was the classical Peter and the Wolf, and when the “scary” parts would come on, I’d hide under the dining room table and say “Woof!” - not in emulation of a bark; that was how I said “Wolf.” I loved that music. I’ve also always loved a good story, especially if it involves fantasy elements, medieval time periods, and healthy doses of romance and action. The Princess Bride is at the top of my favorite movies list, along with The Lord of the Rings movies, Underworld, and Stardust. They’re just fun. But they also tap into our inner natures in very Jungian ways; the hero’s (heroine’s) quest, the wizard/wise woman, the lovers, the monster/bad guys, and the trickster. Most times (spoiler alert)

Me, my brother, and our O’Pa, who would have been 98 yesterday on the Super Moon date, 11/14/16.

the main character(s) have to realize the monster/bad guy is within themselves, as their shadow selves. This can be realized by them going within psychologically, or simply in an external image depicted by another, essentially their mirror.

Like, say, in the form of a wolf.

And the energy of this particular Moon is leaning towards the were- version. I think this Moon is calling to our werewolf natures, the monsters we each have within us but also the one we have as a collective, as a society that in truth is far more connected than we may feel right now. The brightness of this lunar check-in is making it impossible not to turn, not to feel the animal within breaking free regardless of your trigger or what you think you’re fighting. As painful as that transition is and as awful as it is to consider the damage our beastly sides will wreak, the change is upon us and we can’t go back just yet. One very important concept about werewolves is that they are innately connected to the human side; they cannot be apart. Kill one, kill the other.

The key is integration.We have to learn to live with both. There is no alternative; human nature isn’t going to change. People will always feel territorial, protective, sad, happy, loved, unloved, cruel, and humane. WE HAVE TO MAKE THESE TWO WORK TOGETHER, WITHIN US INDIVIDUALLY AND ALSO COLLECTIVELY. And even as I write that I have no clear idea of how. But we have to try, and nothing can be attempted that isn’t admitted.

Look at the werewolves emerging around you. Look at the werewolf coming out from you. These beasts are primal, they want to feed.

The Divine Feminine of the Full Moon’s energy is what brings this out of us by surging through our shifting emotions, our attachments to home, how we nourish ourselves and others, and our connections to our mothers. The emotion many of us share right now from whatever “side” you’re on is anger rooted in fear, our common home is the USA, we nourish ourselves and others through our communities, and the mother we all share is Earth.

One way silver is quietly shining is the safety pin movement, but in light of the lupine leanings of this lunation, what if we go a little louder? What if we call on all the positive aspects of wolves - the strong family values, the pack protection, intelligence, playfulness, sociability and friendliness, and aversion to aggression? What if we use the most powerful community-building tool of the wolf should we see someone in need of help: its voice? See someone in trouble? Happen to be nearby when there’s harassment, bullying, racism, sexism, any “-ism” going down? At a loss for the right words? I think it may be time to howl.

Let’s add some levity and some noise to the times. Let’s look our wolven natures right in the eyes and see them, so we can begin attempts to harmonize with them by focusing on the parts that work towards unity. If the beast is emerging anyway, give it a proper, shining voice. At the very least, it will be fun.

Call to the pack, not the ones on your “side,” but the pack of humanity. I know it sounds a little weird, but Donald Trump is President-elect, and it doesn’t get much weirder than that. Even if you support him, you’ve got to admit it’s fucking bizarre. So howl until the were-withinis fed and transformed, howl until the pack is united, and howl until it’s as close to one song as we can get.

10/15/16: The Aries Full Moon is coming tomorrow, 10/16/16, at 12:23am EDT. She is conjunct Uranus (Prometheus) and both are opposite a Mercury/Sun conjunction in Libra. All of them, along with Jupiter in Libra, will be square Pluto in Capricorn; and Mars, conjunct Pluto, will be square Uranus, Jupiter, and Mercury (but, interestingly, not the Sun or Moon). I think that exclusion in the connections of the Sun and Moon reinforce that, regardless of what we think or how we feel, a shift is coming.

We are feeling the need for change. Big change. Society-defining change. Moving-forward-as-a-species change. But we’re somewhat gridlocked by overthinking, sensitivities to rocking the boat too much, and feeling unsure what is really fair to everyone – your basic Libra hemming and hawing. But the Saturnian power of Pluto and Mars, the destroyer and the warlord, in Capricorn bring us the unavoidable energy that shift’s about to happen. Time’s about up, and Daddy has gotten his belt.

So who’s going to get the whipping?

Because that’s what it’s coming down to. Someone is going to pay, to get hurt, to be upset. And when what’s ultimately on the line is “you or them”, what’s it going to be?

With all this Libra energy, it can be difficult to remember that life isn’t about pleasing everyone. That cannot even happen. The life element Libra brings us is the power of harmony, the lesson of learning to resonate collectively with the vibrations of peace, justice, and balance.

Spoiler alert: all people are not EVER going to always get along. In case you haven’t heard that by now, you’re welcome. The Aries Full Moon reminds us to refocus on our own objectives, our own opinions, and our own agendas. Realign those with your goals and actions, and if you’re ultimately working towards harmony, that’s your best strategy right now.

Thankfully, the Mars/Pluto conjunction is sextile Neptune in Pisces, lending a higher-vibration energy to what we’re working for in a way that keeps us near, if not on, the high road. An opposition from Neptune to True Node in Virgo means it will take a while, but reasonable people don’t expect society to change overnight.

Lilith and Venus, the dark lady and the lady of luck and love, are both in Scorpio (ruled by Pluto), the sign of deep feminine power that destroys/is destroyed and then rises again. Lilith is sextile Pluto in Capricorn and Venus is trine the wounded healer Chiron in watery, spiritually-connected Pisces. We are just beginning to make some broad-level changes towards healing the feminine in our society.

Happy Full Moon.

9/29/16: Tomorrow, 9/30, is this year’s Libra New Moon at 8:11pm EDT. A New Moon brings us cave time, the cyclical opportunity to go within ourselves or even physically retreat from people and places to get some perspective, reassess some boundaries, and heal.

Healing would be great right about now. Remember the last post about the Full Moon conjunct the Lunar Eclipse and all the bandaids about to be ripped from our wounds? Yeah, that happened; it happened collectively and personally, too. Because collective issues are personal ones at the heart of things, so on the individual level is where things have to change before we see the larger ramifications socially and legally. Those wounds needed, and still need, some air and sunlight.

It’s time for a new Zeitgeist. Within yourself, challenge your deepest held beliefs and values. Make a claim to yourself, like “I believe everyone deserves love” - or whatever you want to say – and then just sit with it for a few minutes to feel if/how it resonates way down inside your core. Then, look at life and see if what you believe is reflected in words and actions from others around you. And even more so, if what you believe is reflected in words and actions from you.

How are you a part of what is actually happening?

Do you really believe how you feel, what you say, and what you do matters?

Are you, in any way, living in service of your beliefs – or, at least, supporting those who are?

A Libra New Moon is a good starting point for a new Zeitgeist. Libra energy reaches for harmony – unification, not sameness – and desires to bring together various elements in life in a way that works for everyone. Maybe we can think of the Libra energy in our lives as the ultimate organic chemistry, the study of life. And as much as life changes, it can be difficult to keep up with what works and what doesn’t. We have to remember to keep an open mind, and like any actual scientist, refrain from stating observations as facts, hypotheses as infallible, or opinions as ultimate truths.

On our side for this New Moon, we have Jupiter also in Libra conjunct the Sun/Moon. Those three are square Mars in Capricorn, reminding us that this is still foundation-setting time, and what we do now matters tremendously for the future and how we, both personally and as a collective group, will evolve (or not). I recently saw a “be a warrior, not a worrier”meme, and I think that’s great advice right now. Don’t let fear win. Don’t let your worst case scenario be where you focus your thoughts, because that’s where your actions will follow.

Pick up your weapons - trust, love, kindness, patience - and hold your ground. It’s ok if, for the moment, you don’t move forward. There will be a time for that; specifically, a Full Moon in warrior Aries conjunct promethean Uranus is only a couple of weeks away…and it will be a doozy.

9/13/16: This week we’re working up to a Pisces Full Moon during a Lunar Eclipse on Friday, 9/16, at 3:05pm EDT. Chiron Rx will be conjunct the Moon and a part of the Eclipse energetically. This conjunction will be opposite Mercury Rx and the Sun in Virgo, and Jupiter just over the line into Libra.

And everyone at that party will be square Mars in Sagittarius.

That thing you thought you were over? That wound you were pretty sure had healed? That talk you talked because you thought you could walk the walk?

Not so much. And don’t be surprised if the relapse hits you broadside from the subconscious, the unseen, the underneath parts of life that you had covered up. The bandage is coming off. Remember when you were little and you could either pull it off slowly (presumably less painfully but it took forever) or rip it off as fast as possible (so the pain was over quickly)? I’m not sure if we get that choice this time.

It’s ok, though. For real. Mars, ruler of fiery Aries, located in Sagittarius - another Fire sign – is burning for freedom, for release, and to get everything out of the way except the truth. And that’s all anything ever comes down to, right? Even when we pretend, and deny, and pretend some more, the truth niggles in the dark in the back of our minds, underneath our hearts until whoops, there it is….again.

So why not get on board and accept it now? Because we’re human and sometimes stubborn and sometimes scared and sometimes both. If only we could fix that – oh, wait, that does happen eventually, when we’re dead. So for now, let’s work on what we can, with whom we can, and do our best.

Jupiter in Libra with all it’s connections warns us now to be careful of what we think is fair. Some things need to change, some things don’t – and our interpretation of fair will often push us one way or the other. Remember the tricky role of ego, and that the true definition of “fair” is sometimes way beyond what our individual egos can figure out or handle; karmically/spiritually, we don’t consciously have all the pieces to the puzzle in our human grasp. That’s ok, too. A lot of good has come out of people pissed off enough about what they didn’t think was fair.

Maybe one of the most important parts of this Eclipse will be our realization/remembering that we must forgive ourselves. Maybe it will be a reminder that nothing moves forward in our hearts, our souls, our minds – until we’ve let something go, let something be, or told it to fuck off. A lot of the time, those things stem from self forgiveness.

Let’s try that.

Pluto Rx in Capricorn is sextile Neptune Rx in Pisces; trine True Node, Mercury Rx, and the Sun in Virgo; and sextile Lilith in Scorpio. All of those connections remind us to, one step at a time, take care of ourselves mentally and physically and be receptive to our deepest, innermost reserves of power. They’re there, but it’s too often we forget it.

Lilith is, in fact, the only sky element out of the ones I’m mentioning that is in a Fixed sign during the Full Moon Eclipse; all others are in either Mutable or Cardinal signs. That’s significant because Lilith reminds of what we need to be receptive to, what we will benefit from accepting and surrendering to, and in this case it’s our power. Once we’ve done that, we can employ the Mutable elements to be flexible and the Cardinal ones to be proactive however we need them to be so we can take charge of our own lives.

For now, during the several days around Friday, we need to remember to accept ourselves, all parts – good, bad, pretty, ugly – so what’s under the bandage won’t seem too bad of a boo boo.

8/9/16: We’re almost halfway through the New-to-Full Moon cycle for this month, moving from the Leo New Moon on 8/2 at 4:44pm EDT to the Aquarius Full Moon that will be on 8/18 at 5:26am EDT. The waxing lunar flow on this path is mostly through the second half of the zodiac, from Leo to Virgo (the last two signs in the first half of the zodiac) to Libra to Scorpio to Sagittarius to Capricorn to Aquarius (Pisces will begin the waning half of the cycle that will take us to the Virgo New Moon – and solar eclipse – on 9/1).

The energy the second half of the zodiac brings is fruition, culmination, realization, maturation, etc. You get the picture. Remember, we’re looking at this through the filter of the Moon, who governs our emotional experiences.

With what are you just “all done”?

What are the lessons you’ve learned so far?

How is what you’ve learned going to help and heal you going forward?

What is the wheat in your life and what is the chaff?

How are you going to harvest what serves you and then use it to serve others?

This current Leo-Aquarius lunar cycle leads us into the Virgo-Pisces lunar cycle of next month. It urges us to get to know ourselves, our egos, and our abilities in relation to the families, societies, and world in which we live – because soon enough, we’ll be asked to know which of those things to keep for ourselves and which of those things to bring into service for others.

As has been a trend this summer, the sky is still full with Fire and Earth (not coincidentally, also the elements of Leo and Virgo, respectively). These are the elements of new foundations in your life, of the destruction of the old, the creation of the new,the lava flow of life.

The inherent adolescent selfishness of Leo and Virgo are offering us the opportunity to see ourselves more clearly, to admit to ourselves who we really are and what we really want. We’re supposed to do this. This is a part of our journey. We have to do this for the sake of what comes next. Because once we cross the line to Libra, it will be time to grow up, to leave the emotional energy of childhood behind and enter the stages of adulthood. And that will be part of our journey, too.

So stop fighting yourself, and surrender to the power emerging from within. It has a lot to teach you.

7/5/16: During the New Moon in Cancer yesterday at 7am EDT the sky was awash in Water, which was only fitting for the sign of the tides. The majority of bodies were in Cancer, including Mercury, the Sun, Moon, and Venus; Lilith and Mars (no longer Rx) were in Scorpio; and Neptune Rx and Chiron Rx were in Pisces.

That left us two in Fire - Uranus in Aries and Saturn Rx in Sagittarius – and three in Earth - True Node and Jupiter conjunct in Virgo and Pluto Rx in Capricorn.

This New Moon sky brings to us the questions of nurturing:

What are you nurturing in your life?

What nurtures you?

Are those things balanced?

And with Pluto Rx in Capricorn opposite the lineup in Cancer (Mercury, Sun, Moon, Venus), we’re also asked:

What are you planting now to nurture and be nurtured by in the future?

Ok, so I’m using that word a lot: nurture. It’s the essential energy of the sign of Cancer, and is defined in a quick google search as: (verb) care for and encourage the growth or development of. Often this energy is associated with all things maternal, so we turn to the mother aspects and influences in our lives to check in with how we’re handling it. But once we’re not in someone’s uterus anymore and we’re not babies (hopefully by adulthood), and once we’re (fingers crossed) functioning adults, then it’s time we figure out how this energy is expressing in our lives from the other side of things. This applies for men and women; it is, essentially, a feminine energy, but we all have it in our makeup and it’s up to us to find balance with it – we each have to find our “inner mama”.

What do you draw within yourself to protect, nourish, and grow?

Those things can be figurative or literal, tangible or intangible.

Do you hoard anything?

Again, figurative or literal, tangible or intangible.

About what do you feel the most selfish?

Do not pretend there’s nothing you’re selfish about, because that means you’re probably selfish about humility.

When you answer those questions honestly, you break the surface of your psyche. Cancer represents not only our physical home and residence, but also our internal one – our subconscious. That subconscious is where the above-mentioned “inner mama” resides and from where she calls the shots.

With sober Saturn Rx in truth-seeking Sagittarius quincunx Mercury/Sun/Moon conjunct in Cancer, this New Moon is offering us a clearer, frank, open look at our emotions and how they guide us, where and with whom we feel at home, the ways in which we seek comfort, what we cherish the most by pulling it close, and how we handle guilt.

Do you make choices based more on how you might feel or how other people might feel?

Do you feel at home in the spaces you are in each day?

Do you feel at home in your own heart?

How do you self-soothe, and what brings you peace?

What do you like to share the most…and the least?

Do you believe guilt is part of a healthy mental and/or emotional life?

If you’re willing to dive into those questions – those waves – you might just find that the ultimate thing your “inner mama” is gestating in this life, what you’re growing and nurturing, is you. And a well-tended “you” brings much more to the world than an ill-nurtured version.

6/20/16: Today is packed with the energy of change, starting with the Full Moon in Sagittarius this morning at 7:04am EDT and culminating to the Summer Solstice tonight at 6:34pm EDT when the Sun moves into Cancer. This longest day of the year for the Northern Hemisphere is happening on the same day as the “Strawberry Moon” - another name for the Full Moon in June – which hasn’t happened since 1948 and won’t again until 6/21/2062.

At the moment of the Full Moon, the sky was filled with mutable energy through a Grand Cross with Jupiter and True Node conjunct in Virgo, Saturn Rx in Sagittarius, Neptune Rx in Pisces, and Mercury in Gemini. A Grand Cross in general is delivering “slow down” and even “stop” messages to remind us to choose carefully, and with two of the planets (Saturn and Neptune) retrograde, there is further urging to “go back” and “re-check” whatever we were so sure about before.

Do your decisions during the past few weeks and days align with what is true in your life and what you believe spiritually?

Are the distractions you allow yourself in line with your ultimate, karmic life goals in ways that promote your health and growth?

Those are a couple of questions this Full Moon moment brings as it sets us up for the next few weeks.

Meanwhile, Mars Rx in Scorpio is quincunx Uranus in Aries. With Mars’s tie to fiery, physical, cardinal Aries and Uranus’s tie to cool, emotionally-removed, fixed Aquarius, this might seem like two energies that don’t get along…and that wouldn’t be super wrong. Back before people could see Pluto (Scorpio’s ruler), Mars – god of war, retribution, and vigor – ruled both Aries and Scorpio. So with Aries’s ruler, Mars, in a somewhat home-base of Scorpio facing off Uranus in Mars’s actual home-base of Aries, there is more energy backing Mars Rx than Uranus in this equation.

Do you find it difficult right now to balance your drive for unity among humanity, your deep desires for the closest we could get to Utopia, and your anger that keeps us separate?

Do you have bottled up aggression because you want change but feel paralyzed when it comes to what actions to take?

Does it feel like the large systems in place – both on an external social/political/global scale as well as the internal behemoths of belief people harbor – are keeping us all from evolving collectively (Uranus square Pluto Rx in Capricorn)?

Uranus’s sextile to the Sun in mutable, airy Gemini and trine to the Moon in mutable, fiery Sagittarius will hopefully bring some inspiration and positive thoughts, somehope, to those frustrations. The Sun and Moon are both in the last degrees of their respective signs, and this is where they burst with the ripeness of their respective energies: the Sun in Gemini reminds us to think flexibly, to analyze, to be open to change and exchange; and the Moon in Sagittarius reminds us of the feeling of freedom, the value of joy, and our ability to rise above what challenges us through higher perspectives.

6/6/16: So now I know why “flow like water” (from my 5/20 post) was coming through – this weekend held the energy of when a tornado meets a volcano. With Lilith, our most powerful point of surrender to our darker selves, in the first degree of feminine, watery Scorpio, that was our best strategy…surrender to the mighty forces and flow.

The Moon, Sun, and Venus were all near exactly conjunct in Gemini at 14 degrees at the moment of the New Moon on Saturday, 4/4, at 10:59pm EDT. This trio was opposite Saturn Rx in Sagittarius and quincunx Pluto Rx in Capricorn. AND, this trio (Moon, Sun, Venus) was part of a mutable Grand Cross with Jupiter in Virgo, Saturn Rx in Sagittarius, and Neptune in Pisces.

In addition, airy Gemini’s ruler, Mercury, was in earthyTaurus opposite fieryMars Rx in wateryScorpio. Got all the elements in that lineup where slow, careful thought is pitted against subversive, powerful action (or re-action). One more thing, there was also an Earth Grand Trine with Mercury in Taurus, Jupiter and True Node conjunct in Virgo, and Pluto in Capricorn.

Here’s what it looked like:

This was a strong, powerful New Moon. New foundation, new planting season, new opportunities for resetting. We’ll each deal with it individually according to our personal set points (natal charts), but what I choose to focus on here is how we’re collectively affected. So here are some bullet points:

- what illusions/lies are you clinging to that hold you back from self-love?

- what makes you feel the most unworthy about being here- being alive? what do you find unworthy in others?

- when was the last time you connected with your body – as in physical self – in a fully accepting way?

- do you realize when you don’t value or connect to your body, your physical presence on Earth, that you are giving up half of your power?

- do you know that when you accept yourself, and then begin to also accept others, that that is the path to uniting the masculine and feminine within and without?

Uniting doesn’t mean making them the same. Uniting is a harmonious connection, an honoring of both, and blending together so that the sum is greater than its parts. We could all use more of that, individually and collectively. It’s our untapped power, unfulfilled potential, and our truest treasure waiting to be found. And that dragon in the way? That’s us, too.

5/20/16: The Sun moved into Gemini today at 10:36am EDT with the ruling planet of Gemini, Mercury, staying retrograde in Taurus until 9:19am EDT on Sunday, 5/22. The Full Moon in Sagittarius will be tomorrow night, 5/21, at 5:14pm EDT and will shed light on our emotions that urge us to be free. The Moon will be in the first degree of Sagittarius (on a 0-29 scale) which holds the energy of rebellion, exploration, blossoming, bursting, and most strongly: freedom.

Adding a generous amount of Fire to the Moon will be Mars Rx in the second degree of Sagittarius, and even though Mars is moving backwards (soon to be back in Scorpio) there is still an element of action that always defines the god of war. Beware of impulsive acts; be on the lookout for moments you can flow with what’s happening without forcing. Despite all of the Fire and Earth in the sky right now, be like water.

This Sagittarius Moon/Mars combination that heightens our emotional needs for action and change will be opposite a Gemini Sun/Taurus Venus conjunction. Use your skills as the observer as much as possible this next week, because egos will be filled with distractions and most of them will require you to spend money if you’re not watching closely. Learn to see things as they really are and align your goals with the underlying reality, not the sparkly, pretend, depth-less one on the surface.

At the moment of the Full Moon, there will also be a couple of Earth Grand Trines between Mercury Rx in Taurus, Jupiter and True Node in Virgo, and Pluto in Capricorn. All of those elements in Earth (Venus is in Taurus, too) combined with all of the current Fire elements (Moon, Mars, Saturn in Sag; Uranus in Aries) means we have a volcano in the heavens. Volcanoes are the foundation builders of our planet and birth the most fertile soil for growth when lava and ash, over time, break down minerals that produce earth with the optimum balance of elements to feed our crops. Like Mt. Vesuvius in Italy or Mauna Loa in Hawaii, one or two immense eruptions can provide rich soil for thousands of years.

Think about that allegorically: astrologically, a big eruption in your life – despite the damage it may cause in the present – is able to lay a foundation that can sustain you with unimaginable wealth for many years to come.

That’s big.

That’s also where the Water element comes back into the picture to help. What puts out Fire? You guessed it. And the healers Neptune and Chiron are in Pisces, with Lilith (our opportunity to receive) in Scorpio.

So whether you want it to or not, the volcano may erupt. Let it, flowing first with the lava’s path of destruction, and next with Water’s path of healing as it cools the flames. Then, watch the Earth in your life – the solid, the steady, the day-to-day living – become enriched, so that everything you might plant can grow.

5/6/16: The Taurus New Moon is today at 3:29pm EDT, and comes with seven other sky elements in Earth signs creating several Grand Trines. Those involved are: Pluto Rx (Capricorn); Jupiter Rx, Part of Fortune, & North Node (Virgo); and the Sun, Venus, & Mercury Rx (Taurus).

This message is heavy with opportunity, grounded and solid with the soil we need to plant seeds of change. (I’ve said that a lot lately.) This is a time of fertile Earth, of stability, of hope for the future. This is the time we’ll look back on later and think, “That was when I should have started!” This, THIS, is a major way astrology is helpful. But advice/warnings/insights are only worth the value we give them, and only help us when we listen and act.

Nobody wants to look back a year from now and realize what should have been done. So look at the stars, read the tea leaves, throw the bones…or ask whatever divine connection works for you. But do ask, and then do something; plan it; prepare for it; make your move. This could mean speaking up, speaking out, voting, quitting, shutting up, reprioritizing, taking time off – we each have our individual work, and we all have to find harmony together in ways that nurture and sustain.

Can you feel that message? Can you feel its relevance? Neptune in Pisces from 2011-2024, joined by Chiron in Pisces until 2018, is diligently working on us collectively in dealing with spirituality, spiritual health, karma, and our shadow selves (soooo much of that lately on a global scale). We have quite a few years left for this, which is another reason the current planting stage is so, soimportant.

I’d post a “We are the World” video here for emphasis, but now I don’t have to because you’re already singing it in your head…probably for the rest of the day.

4/28/16: Five planets are retrograde today once Mercury in Taurus has gone Rx at 1:19pm EDT, joining Jupiter Rx in Virgo, Mars Rx and Saturn Rx in Sagittarius, and Pluto Rx in Capricorn, all dancing their backwards waltzes.

Those still moving forward include the Moon moving into humanitarian Aquarius early morning on 4/29 and Venus moving into stable Taurus later in the evening that same day.

For now, though, passionate Venus is burning through the last few degrees of fiery Aries square the practical Capricorn Moon, who is lighting up Pluto Rx in Capricorn, too. What desires are aflame in your heart that your emotional sense of caution just won’t let you indulge? Should you admire the fires from afar, or feed them until they raze everything to the ground, “reseting” the fields? Sometimes the extremes of doing nothing or everything are simply two sides of the same coin. Which side will you flip – to fan the flames or to cautiously let them simmer?

Pluto Rx in sensible Capricorn is reminding us of the “buy and hold” strategy of investing, and it’s likely that when Venus plants herself in Taurus tomorrow night, we’ll be glad if we did. She’ll be looking for some physical comforts and tangible pleasures, so don’t detonate the dynamite under them today. Waiting should sound quite rational with the Moon/Pluto Rx conjunction trine Mercury in Taurus, who, remember, has also slowed down.

The real action right now is coming from Jupiter Rx in Virgo opposite Neptune in Pisces, both T-square Mars Rx and Saturn Rx in Sagittarius. There is so much truth bubbling to the surface right now around health issues, our food system, and our social-political structures. With all (FIVE!!!) of the retrogrades, the sky has slowed things WAY down for us to get a really close look – think rubber-necking an interstate pileup – but the question still remains: what are we going to do about any of it?

Maybe we could use this planting season to seed ideas, to join each other in the fields of our future and sow the crops that will grow into what feeds us…all. The Taurus Sun, the bull, reminds us of quiet strength, of persistence, of duty, and of appreciation for and care of the Earth. Not much of a party without her, considering she’s our host.

4/15/16: A plethora of Grand Trines are lighting up space today: Capricorn Pluto, Taurus Mercury, and Virgo Jupiter are in a celestial three-way, and the Leo Moon is handing out tons of love to Venus in Aries, Uranus in Aries, Mars in Sagittarius, and Saturn in Sagittarius.

Here on the East Coast in Charlotte, NC, the houses most involved are the 1st, 4th, 5th, 8th, 9th, and 12th.

Big issues are being raised and pondered as we’re asked collectively and individually to figure some things out in the arenas of sex, death, and taxes. Oh, and it’s April 15th…

I recently took a trip to Rome and had the opportunity to tour the Colosseum. It was an overwhelming and powerful feeling to be in that place, so saturated in history. Our guide told us that the Latin origin of the word “arena” translates to “sand” as the floor of the Colosseum was covered in sand to absorb all of the blood shed in the name of battle and entertainment. Today, we’re in a moral arena fighting gladiators and animals representing our lower vibrations: pornography, lack of intimacy, infidelity, disrespecting sexual orientations, not honoring timely passings of our old/sick/ailing, disproportionate distributions of money and resources, coveting, and hoarding – to name a few.

But just because we’re facing those things doesn’t mean they have to defeat us. A moral arena allows us the space to battle within ourselves if only we have the courage to. And that’s why the Leo Moon is to our advantage today: she’s bringing us the heart of a lion, or better yet, reminding us we’ve had it all along.

Don’t be scared to ask the big questions. Don’t shy away from what answers you get. Trust in the truth. And, your warrior heart.

And don’t forget to file your taxes…

3/19/16: The Spring Equinox is just inside of tomorrow at 12:30am EDT, when the Sun moves into Aries. At that time, there will be a Grand Fire Trine between Uranus in Aries, the Leo Moon, and Saturn in Sagittarius.

Mercury will also move into Aries the next day, 3/21, and the Full Moon in Libra is on 3/23 at 8am EDT, coinciding with a lunar eclipse. And, Saturn goes Rx on 3/25 until 8/13/16.

With the combination of these energetic elements, I think an applicable motto is “pride cometh before the fall”.

Pride is not a bad word; it’s not even four letters. The waxing Leo Moon in this Grand Fire Trine at the Spring Equinox will encourage us to enjoy and maybe even seek out proud moments during the next few days, which in itself isn’t terrible. Feeling good about ourselves is a vital part of a healthy ego and helps us to balance the times we don’t like what we see in mirrors, literal and figurative. But like I’ve said before, Leo energy is about our pride…and our pride.

How fondly we bask in the light of our own inner sun shouldn’t eclipse what’s right for everyone (the opposite sign of Leo is Aquarius, the humanitarian concerned with a utilitarian sense of higher good). Leo energy brings us natural leadership skills, but those are only worth how well we use them to benefit our other pride - our family, our clan, our nation, our world. Seeking status for the sake of status is an example of doing it wrong. On a societal level, we’re seeing plenty of that right now.

But the flip side to that coin that can be equally destructive is behaving so meekly that you consider yourself worthless, or using false humility.

Basically, stay aware of being humble - not from a self-deprecating place, but from a place of stillness, of being in a moment, of noticing the truth of what’s happening around you, to you, and inside of you. What’s even real?It’s really easy to become confused about that, and almost always – if not always – becoming confused about the truth is a direct effect of our egos being out of balance.

It’s ok; that’s normal. Just don’t be surprised if it brings you down in some way. And that’s ok, too. We all have to deal with it from time to time. Luckily, our capacity for hope is there to help us bounce back.

And coincidentally, hope is the element of Spring- so at least the timing is good.

One more energetic combination happening through both the Spring Equinox and the Full Moon is a T-square with Venus/Neptune conjunction in Pisces opposite Jupiter/True Node conjunction in Virgo, both square Saturn in Sagittarius (going Rx 3/25).

The lover and the dreamer are hanging out in la-la land hoping for spiritual communion in direct opposition to the sky-king and karma, who are dotting all their i’s and crossing all their t’s and minding the details of a healthy life, and all of them are challenged with paying attention to the truth. It’s easy to get caught at either end of that Pisces-Virgo seesaw of big picture-little picture, but Saturn (aka, Cronus – big daddy Titan/Father Time) in Sagittarius is putting his foot down on what’s what.

We have to take both the small stuff and the big stuff into account in our lives, we have to mind the gap while we’re stepping onto the bullet trains in our lives, because it’s the combination of the two that get us to where we want to go.

2/22/16: The Moon will be full at three degrees Virgo today at 1:19pm EST opposite, of course, the Sun in the same degree of Pisces, Virgo’s balancing sign.

Mercury-ruled Virgo is concise, perfectionistic, polite, worrying, health-obsessed, and small-detail oriented. Neptune-ruled Pisces is everything and nothing. Boundary-less, otherworldly, psychic, empathetic, the martyr, longing to become one with spirit, and ungrounded. So how do these two balance? How do they find complement with one another instead of conflict? And in today’s sky at the time the emotion-driven Virgo Full Moon is exactly opposite the ego-driven Pisces Sun, both will also be square Mars at 25 degrees Scorpio.

Here’s the breakdown:be aware of how you let your emotions dictate your social and private behaviors, the times you’re so focused on attempting political correctness, conflict-aversion, identity masquerading, and trying to seem “normal” when what you feel inside is anything but. Be aware of when your ego is telling you you’re above it all, that you need to escape in some way whether that’s by actually running away or using a diversion/distraction to help you melt instead of engage.Be aware that the universe is asking more of you right now, that your primal nature knows it’s time to give birth to whatever you’re gestating, and that giving birth demands that you surrender to the process. You must give up your personal identity, the ego that tells you you’re separate, even in the disguise of uniting with a “higher power”, because that, too, can be an escape from who and what is in front of you. Be ready to relinquish your entire being, spiritual and physical, so that whatever passes from you – through you – in this delivery is given the opportunity to come through whole and unharmed.

Your primal nature wants you to take off the social disguises that don’t reflect your truth. Your primal nature also wants you to be of the Earth as much as you are of spirit, and not to use spirit or ideology as excuses for your work here, now. You are here, right now, so be in the moment - the creative moment – for “primal” doesn’t mean evil, or aggressive, or violent, or destructive as our culture has sadly morphed it into implying. Generations of people suppressing their primal essence too much and wearing the flimsy masks of unbalanced propriety have raised many of us to be unable to deal with what’s real.

It’s time for us to be the grown ups.

“Primal” means essential, fundamental, and of the beginning; and in that there is inherent, natural balance – something we understand intuitively but are socially conditioned to doubt or deny, and few know how to express in harmless ways. And that lack of connection to our primal selves in the name of propriety, ironically, causes a lot of harm.

The binding element between the Virgo-Pisces axis is service. They are both here to help, to be examples of compassion and help us find the complement, or balance, of compassion between ourselves and others. Let their squares to Scorpio Mars be the energy that balances them into power, into action. Take it one day at a time.

The breakdown of the breakdown:stop fucking around with anything false, anything fake – whether it’s how you present yourself or what you tell yourself. Stop grasping for ways to escape the moment. Realize the only way to deliver your inner being is to surrender to the bloody, messy, painful birthing process that requires you to release your hold on the current version of yourself, and at the end of which you are changed. Don’t be afraid of changing; others can and will help you through, but no one else can do this for you. And finally, realize that we’re all here to help - ourselves and each other – and that what you bring to life will be something beautiful for us all.

1/19/16: “All things come to those who wait” is a familiar literary phrase in the poem Tout vient ß qui sait attendre by Violet Fane (pseudonym for Mary, Baroness Currie) that most of us have heard. It has inspired patience in many as a virtue necessary for reaping the rewards of our waiting.

But most of us probably don’t know the rest of her Victorian era poem:

‘Ah, all things come to those who wait,’(I say these words to make me glad),But something answers soft and sad,‘They come, but often come too late.’

And therein lies a struggle common to us all. We’ve had the virtues of patience extolled to us as long as we can remember, mostly from generations of people who had no other options. But is patience really best? This is the astrological question the sky will ask us when the fiery, flamboyant Leo Full Moon appears Saturday night, 1/23, at 8:45pm EST. The Sun moves into airy, analyzing Aquarius tomorrow, 1/22, at 10:27am EST.

Collectively, we are at a point of rapidly changing destiny. Consider this age of information we’re in, and the speed at which widespread ideas are broken and formed, or reformed; the ways in which we’re connected now that even twenty years ago most of us had not the faintest glimmer. The word “patience” nowadays is almost a relic, archaic sounding. Something not working for you? Throw it out and get a new one. Have an opinion about someone or something? Spread the word in a keystroke. Want more? Charge it. Want to feel better now? Pop it, eat it, drink it, shoot it, or smoke it. Want entertainment? Pick a device, a game, a movie, a show. Mainstream culture encourages it.

But this Leo Moon and Aquarian Sun both bring us fixed energies, meaning the ability to steadfastly hold our ground. (The other two fixed signs are Taurus and Scorpio.)

When was the last time we had to sit with a feeling, feel emotions like the waves they are, allow ideas to fully cook and marinate, look closely enough at relationships, other people, and ourselves to see what’s really driving it all? It’s no secret one of the great “misses” of current generations is the practice of doing those things; they’re what steers us to happiness, they are the things that reveal to us our paths, and are the ultimate acts of self-care. And the irony is us not doing them.

Maybe it comes down to which of these two goals we pick: do we want to avoid or do we want to grow?

Let Jupiter Rx in Virgo (slow but big growth) exactly conjunct the North Node (karmic destiny) trine Mercury Rx in Capricorn (rethink the big ideas) exactly conjunct Pluto (power to change) slow your roll. Saturn in Sagittarius (higher truth) is anchoring the sky with trines to the Leo Moon (big heart) and Uranus in Aries (thinking outside of the box), both of which are anchored to squares – Mars in Scorpio (powerful action) and the Pluto/Mercury conjunction in Capricorn (transform thoughts and communication), respectively.

“I beg you, to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don’t search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.”

- Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet

1/11/16: Happy New Year! Beginning February 8th, 2016 will be a Fire Monkey year in Chinese astrology. Check out this article if you want more on that.

Couple of things in play right now are Mercury and Jupiter retrogrades and the Capricorn New Moon. Mercury’s retrograde cycle this time is 1/5-1/25, and took the planet from the first degrees of Aquarius back into Capricorn where it will stay for the rest of this Rx stint. Also during that time, Mercury Rx will be trine Jupiter Rx conjunct the North Node in Virgo, which should ease the slow-down, re-everything effect retrograde Mercury typically has.

Saturday, 1/9, was the Capricorn New Moon at 8:30pm EST, conjunct the Sun, Pluto, and Mercury also all in Capricorn. This, along with those same astro-bodies trine the JupiterRx/North Node exact conjunction in Virgo, was an earthyreset button for the next couple of weeks.

Are you feeling grounded? Healthy?

Have you had the urge lately to clean house, whether that’s your literal home, your workspace, or your body?

This was a fantastic resolution New Moon that is supporting all those decisions you’re making regarding 2016. Imagination and fantasies are vital to wherever in life we go next – they’re part of dreaming our lives into being – but for now, put them in the backseat because it’s time to drive. Mars in Scorpio is helping us take action towards our powerful decisions, the life-changing kind, for the better. If you’re adding things to your life, you’re giving up other things; everything has a price. That’s how this karmic plane we’re on works. So go for what you want, and let go of what the universe is asking you to release.

Why wouldn’t you?

That might mean something big for you…or something small. Based on your individual natal and solar return charts, you could be making a life decision like marriage, divorce, changing residence, having kids, changing jobs, etc; or, you may be making the little choices that add up over time, like eating better, sleeping more, balancing work and fun more fairly, and choosing to express love and kindness even when biting off heads is easier. The common point is establishing a new foundation, a new base, for how your life is going to work…a new balance. Jupiter Rx in health-conscious, earthy Virgo is slowing us down to reevaluate our choices, and supporting us in nurturing ourselves. How else could we be there to truly nurture anyone else?

And with the Sun/Moon/Pluto conjunction in Capricorn square Uranus in Aries, expect the unexpected, especially with anything to do with your job or career. Easing the shock of those surprises is Uranus’s trine to both Saturn and Venus conjunct in Sagittarius. No matter what comes up, always stick with the truth and be kind*. Period. We can pretend otherwise, but Saturn in Sagittarius won’t let us get away with that for long. One of the nicer effects of that energetic combination is that hard work pays…and pays well. Try not to be so excited when the money comes in that you let the Monkey in you run wild and go and blow it all at once.

*Kindness is circumstantial, and isn’t synonymous to words such as “nice” or “sweet” or “friendly”. “Kind” can be a kick in the pants when it’s needed, the letting go of communication and connection, and saying “no” anytime. Like compassion, you deserve it for yourself and there are times you’re the only one who can or will provide it. And also like compassion, even in its potential violence, inherent in the design of kindness is that it intends no harm to another soul but intends to help. Sometimes being “nice” is simply the cover for hate/fear; that is not true kindness to self or others.

11/24/15: It is a big, beautiful, almost-Full Moon out there tonight – go take a look-see if you haven’t yet! My view is clear and bright with no clouds and a ton of light shining into the night. Technically, the Moon won’t be completely Full until tomorrow, 11/25, at 5:44pm EST.

Right now it’s a Taurus Moon, but will be in Gemini by 12:15pm EST tomorrow. The zodiac order of energy tells us that we must figure out what we value (Taurus) before we open our big mouths and share information (Gemini). After all, shouldn’t we share what is important to us? And remember, the Moon rules our emotions – how we feel about ourselves, others, and just about everything else.

What is important to you emotionally?

How do you want to feel?

Do you value your emotions or avoid them?

Do you value emotions in other people or avoid them?

When we are truthful with ourselves about these things, we will more likely communicate them truthfully to others, too. Baby, don’t lie.

Typically, a Gemini Full Moon will have us swinging from one end of our emotional spectrum to the other faster than a hungry, third-trimester, pregnant woman - one minute all rational and reasonable and smiles; and the next an irrational, unreasonable, shrieking banshee of a mess. HOWEVER, Saturn is conjunct the Sun and Mercury, all in Sagittarius, and may just bring us a saving grace: the truth.

Clearly, it’s a theme right now.

Can we slow down our minds and free our hearts enough to let our intuition back in the driver’s seat?

At the Full Gemini Moon, Mars in Libra will be trine the Moon and sextile the Sun/Saturn/Mercury in Sag, urging us to find balance, harmony, and charm through our actions. That’s a good start to a family holiday.

Happy Thanksgiving!

11/12/15: Yesterday at 12:47pm EST was the New Moon in Scorpio, conjunct the Sun in Scorpio, conjunct Mercury in Scorpio. The presence of Mercury/Hermes and a yod formed with Jupiter and Uranus made it a Magician’s Moon, ripe with the powers of understanding, release, and transformation.

Some more technical stuff: the strong Yod formed between the Scorpio Sun/Moon/Mercury conjunction with a sextile to Jupiter in Virgo (in Saturn-ruled second decan), both quincunx Uranus in Aries – who was also square Pluto in Capricorn. I knew you were wondering; now you can get on with your day…

What does all that mean??

Simply put, it means we have the power to beaware. We have the power to let go. We have the power change.

And our reward for walking through those fires, swimming in those depths, going into those caves, and withstanding those windstorms…is to be healed. The healing aspects of the New Moon chart were expressed with:

- the Scorpio Sun/Moon/Mercury conjunction trine Chiron in Pisces

- Mercury trine Neptune in Pisces, and

- Neptune square Saturn in Sagittarius.

And that means…this is a prime opportunity to turn our sluggish little caterpillar, leaf-eating selves into beautiful, free-flying, flower-hopping butterflies.

Remember, a Yod is a “finger of God” - a “Hey! Look at that!” from the divine. We are being shown how to take care of ourselves and our Earth, we are being shown that our hearts and minds can handle whatever depths we need to traverse, we are being shown that in those depths is that magical link to infinity, we are being shown that inspiration hits hard and fast and that some walls must crumble – whether that’s because they’ll be rebuilt better, or because it’s the horizon we’re meant to find.

The only question left is: are we going to SEE?

10/26/15: Tomorrow morning, 10/27, the Taurus Full SuperMoon will reflect back the Scorpio Sun at 8:05am EDT.

A Full Moon is typically a time for extroverted energies, when we are feeling and behaving more actively and outwardly than usual. This one, however, is steeped in internal, introverted, inner-world energy. The Sun in the third degree of Scorpio and the Moon in the third degree of Taurus, along with Uranus in the 17th degree of Aries quincunx a Jupiter/Venus/Mars conjunction in Virgo, offer us ways to figure out how to let go of our fear stories over the next few days.

What are yours?

- being alone

- financial lack or reputational ruin

- loss of love or loved ones

- death

Those are some of the big ones. But they all have the same effect on us: they put the brakes on life. To be clear, I’m not talking about actually dealing with these things once they’ve happened; that’s entirely different. I’m talking about the fear of them. That trepidation that binds us with cords of worry and doubt, rendering us immobile to try new people/places/things, rooting us in patterns that lead to self-destruction and stagnation.

Upon which transformations are you willing to embark? With the Moon and the Jupiter/Venus/Mars conjunction all trine Pluto (ruler of Scorpio) in Capricorn, our power is in our accountability.

I think a lot of us misinterpret what “accountability” is or means. The word is often used as a scapegoat for “all I have to do is admit something and then I’m scott free of it, especially if I had a really good (self-serving) reason” - and perhaps that’s a byproduct of our talk-show confessional culture of the past few decades. Accountability means a lot more than that, though; inherent in the definition is taking responsibility and being liable, answerable, and at-fault.

Maybe all of those fears listed above are trumped by our fear of accountability, both for the things that we’ve done and the things we haven’t.

It takes a certain strength of character to accept fault and be answerable. We don’t have an overwhelming number of role models for this in society, so the trickle down is, well, mostly dry. I’m going to take a stab in the dark here that the reason we aren’t jumping at the chance to take accountability in our lives is because, due to a damaged self-value system, we add components to the mix that have no business being there, like shame, low self-worth, and any of those fears listed above. It is possible to be guilty, liable, and accountable without those unnecessary complications. Possible, but not always easy. And understandably, most people want the easy button option in life.

So with this Full Moon, see if your ego is strong enough to handle facing whatever it’s time for you to be accountable for in your life, and if you can value yourself enough to know that the very fact you’re here means you have the right to try.

Spoiler alert: it is, and you can.

This Moon isn’t about what to do next, it’s about what to do now. This is step #1. Resonate in your accountability, and let the next steps reveal themselves when it’s time.

9/27/15: Tonight is the Full SuperMoon in Aries and is the fourth in a tetrad of total lunar eclipses, with the others having occurred on 4/15/14, 10/8/14, and 4/4/15. Historically, this has been a rare event, with none of these total lunar eclipse tetrads having occurred between 1600 and 1900. BUT, there will be eight in the 21st century alone, so not so rare going into the near future. Also, the Moon will appear red through this eclipse to those of us able to see it, which gives it the name “Blood Moon” and adds a little more drama to it all. It’s super cloudy here, so I don’t think I’ll be able to see it – but I will look outside around 11pm just in case!! Read this for more on the tetrad.

Astrologically, we are in the midst of a plethora of life-changing energy. Here’s what’s happening the moment of the Full Moon, that will set the cycle going forward:

- the Moon will be in Aries, the war-god, the Fire cardinal sign ruled by Mars, which just entered Virgo, the harvester

- the Sun, Mercury, North Node, and Lilith (Black Moon) will all be conjunct in Libra and in opposition to the the Full Aries Blood-Super-Moon

- there will be five T-squares as follows – Aries Moon/Libra Sun opposition, both square Pluto in Capricorn; Aries Moon/Mercury in Libra opposition, both square Pluto in Capricorn; Uranus in Aries/Mercury in Libra opposition, both square Pluto in Capricorn; Neptune in Pisces/Mars in Virgo opposition, both square Saturn in Sagittarius; Neptune in Pisces/Jupiter in Virgo opposition, both square Saturn in Sagittarius

- the Aries Moon will be trine Saturn in Sagittarius

- Pluto in Capricorn will be trine Jupiter in Virgo

- Uranus in Aries will be trine Venus in Leo

Whew.

This particular combination of energy acknowledges our passion and desire to expand, create, and open up in life in ways that are more spiritually real to us. We know how to play the roles we were taught, to smile at the right times, to nod appropriately, to present ourselves respectably. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

However, we also feel a burgeoning of self, a thrusting forth of energy from inside of us that requires deeper, fuller expression and craves expanded knowledge. But to connect with that part of ourselves we have to drop our idols, our egos, and our habit of settling for placidity. All of the T-squares coming up say “SLOW DOWN” about as clearly as possible. It’s time to be whole, and that means balancing ourselves from the inside; we can’t go-go-go all the time and be listening fully to our intuition.

Listening and slowing down are NOT the same as becoming placid, they are ways we engage our yin.

You know that interrupting-cow joke? That’s what we do to our inner voices, all the time. Let’s stop being interrupting cows to ourselves.

That quest to become whole includes compassion for ourselves, which naturally leads to compassion and service for others. That quest means letting go (yep, said it again) more often of our crutches of distraction – anything that pulls us away from inner space and conscious awareness, especially those things we disguise as “good for us” or that we do in the name of helping others (volunteer much?), but really are escapes from presence in a moment and check us out of conscious living. If you want to become inspired, try sitting still for five minutes; you will be bombarded with all kinds of thoughts about what to do next. And what comes to you may be one of those “good for you” activities or another way to help others, but the point is that it will be the right choice, made with awareness, intention, and intuition. Everybody benefits from that.

With this Full Moon, open up to your own heart. Notice where, what, when, how, why, and who you worship. Lose your fear of the truth. Remember that healing takes time, and it’s time. Claim your power of choice in life before someone else chooses for you.

And most of all, don’t take yourself too seriously.

9/22/15: Tomorrow is the advent of my favorite season: FALL!!! The Autumn Equinox will occur when the Sun shifts from Virgo to Libra at 4:20am EDT tomorrow, 9/23/15. Bring on the boots!!!

At the time of the AE, the Gibbous Moon will be nearing the end of stable, earthy, in-charge Capricorn. Saturn, Capricorn’s ruler, just entered Sagittarius again last week on 9/17, and is bringing in the truth to us for positive change personally and collectively.

In a few days on 9/27, the Moon will be Full in Aries at 10:50pm EDT, at which time there will also be a SuperMoon lunar eclipse. Apparently, those two things – a SuperMoon and a lunar eclipse – haven’t coincided for 32 years, and won’t for another 18 years. Read this article for more on that and details to watch the whole thing – should be pretty cool to see if the sky is clear enough that night!

But back to tomorrow’s event – at the time of the AE, the Sun will be at zero degrees Libra, conjunct the North Node at one degree Libra and Lilith at three degrees Libra. Lilith is a fascinating component of the sky and, while three different forms of her exist, I’m referencing the Black MoonLilith, which isn’t an actual material body but rather a concept of a void based on the Moon’s position. She is described as follows:

“The Black Moon point is where we are lured into our more self-centered illusions for the purpose of purging negative desires, thereby leading us to the deeper truth within our hearts, the longings and yearnings of our souls. She insists that we feel through, let go, and surrender to something essential and transparent in us that is primary – the bedrock beneath the shifting sands, the passion of the soul.” ~ M. Kelley Hunter, taken from her “The Dark Goddess Lilith” article on themountainastrologer.com.

The degrees of Libra activated at the Autumn Equinox by the Sun, the North Node, and the Black Moon Lilith tell a story. The story is about how our egos, represented by the Sun, want nothing more than for us to be one of the crowd, to blend in, be accepted and liked. It wants us to camouflage our uniqueness, our differentiating identity, our true self so that we feel more welcome and avoid conflict. But the North Node, our karmic path of destiny in this moment and incarnation, is right there reminding us that we are alive. And in that deal, that arrangement, we have intrinsically agreed to constantly change, grow, and transform as we experience the lowest of lows, the highest of highs, and everything in between…and that this truth is inseparable from existence. It is as real as a snake bite.

Enter the Black Moon Lilith at three degrees Libra. As you read above, she opens the path for us to release our egos and tap into our darkest, deepest selves. She is a wild opening, the ultimate void, the black hole within each of us that awaits our humble surrender of ego. When we let go and allow her gravitational pull to engulf us, we are taken to the place where we see how the manifestation our deepest fears is connected to us. And in this specific degree of Libra, we are faced with the patterns of pain and anger that draw us towards lower chakra behaviors – lashing out with verbal and/or physical violence, sexual promiscuity or affairs, unbalanced pride, self-deprecation or self-righteousness – all in avoidance of accepting the shifting ground and instability around us. But this instability is essential to our growth. To set a new foundation, a way through our inner wars, it’s time to let go and let Lilith.

Libra’s ruler, Venus, is at 19 Leo, which represents “a black pearl hidden in an oyster”, according to Ellias Lonsdale in his book Inside Degrees. Black pearl = Black Moon. His passage on this degree includes the following:

“But most of all, you must vanquish your pride and acknowledge from the core of your being that going through this world without your deep soul intact is hell. If you seek, you shall find. If you ache, you shall come to a restored wholeness. But not without the suffering, the grief, and the facing of the void; initiation in the depths.”

That is awesome synchronicity with Black Moon Lilith, even better coming from the powerful feminine archetype, Venus. Remember, we all have the masculine and feminine within us, and we each have to find the balance within so that we can have it without, as well.

Further, Venus in Leo will be conjunct her lover and the god of war, Mars, in Leo at 28 degrees. And the synchronicity is on FIRE; here’s another excerpt, this time from 28 degrees Leo:

“Consecration to a higher power. The giving-over of personal will – the marvel of root change. Coming to the end of your own path, and it is just the beginning of the greater way. The heart must open. The infinite must be born inside.”

How many more ways do we need to hear it to get the message? Let go, let go, let go. Whether with courage strengthening your stride or shaking like the autumn leaves about to fall, the only way is onward and the first steps are inward. Anything else isn’t growth, it’s repetition.

And throughout all of this, Mercury is retrograde in Libra until 10/9… At home in an Air sign, he’ll have all kinds of fun with technology. In Libra, he’s asking us “what’s out of balance in your life?”- so notice the ways messages get crossed, computers glitch, and deals get messy or fall through. There’re lessons in those places!

8/27/15: Full Moon in Pisces will be here Saturday, 8/29, at 2:35pm EDT. Front and center with the Moon’s energy is the energy of a multiple T-square featuring:

- the Moon & Neptune conjunct in Pisces (Neptune’s home base)

*opposite*

-the Sun and Jupiter conjunct in Virgo

*all square*

-Saturn in Scorpio.

Are there any delusions/illusions you’ve been harboring, hoarding, and holding on to like a broke-ass college kid with two fistfuls of maxed-out credit cards? This Full Moon, payment on your karmic credit card is due.

As I mentioned in the 8/1 post below, Saturn in Scorpio shows us the truth.

All the beautiful, otherworldly feelings of oneness a Pisces Moon conjunct Neptune brings us are flowing against the abundant harvest and over-zealous invincibility the Sun conjunct Jupiter in Virgo inspires in us. And they’re all about to be bitch slapped by Saturn heaping out the last of Scorpio’s revelations and personal will making-and-breaking power.

Been holding on to those fantasies, dreams, and big plans you made? The ones that are ego-driven, fear-based, and just low energy are going to fold. And you’re going to know so deep down in your gut that they were always meant to fail that, hopefully, you’ll let them. With this Full Moon’s energy, your strength isn’t going to be learned through the fight, but through the surrender.

The good news is that Pluto, Scorpio’s ruler, is still in restructuring mode in foundation-building (and CEO Saturn-ruled) Capricorn. And the energy stirred up there is with Pluto’s quincunxes to Mars and Venus still making out in Leo. This is a highly creative and fertile time for us. We are being given inspiration, but also the requirement of patience, structure, and planning.

In other words, cross your t’s and dot your i’s, get the legal counsel you need, document everything, and don’t assume things will just work out without some applied effort on your part. This is not about fighting for what you want, it’s about working towards what you must express.

All of this energy is getting a boost with the Full Moon, but the T-square of Jupiter opposite Neptune with both square Saturn began back on 8/22 at the First Quarter Moon. It has been crescendoing towards the Full Moon when we get the wallop of lunar emphasis, and will continue to increase in intensity through the next few weeks before its decrescendo and finally breaking apart on the morning of 10/2/15.

So use it to your best advantage!

Sometimes the first step is just to say out loud – even if only to yourself – your truth. Mercury in Libra can help you do that fairly and eloquently. So, again, ask yourself:

“What do I want?”

And answer truthfully, because the universe – because you – will not accept anything less.

8/1/15: So the Blue Moon just passed – and although “blue” is rarely intended as a literal description…it really was this time! Last night a little after midnight the just-past-full Moon was shining in a cloudless sky with a pale, icy-blue hue. Pretty cool. A few hours before, it had risen from the horizon a brilliant orange. Just a little reminder from the ruler of our emotions that how our experiences are filtered can change how we see and how we’re seen.

As beautiful as the Full Blue Moon was, there is some other energy around us right now to which it is important to listen. Big retrograde news, and big Saturn and Venus influences are in play. Today, Saturn, Venus, Pluto, Neptune, Chiron, and Uranus are all retrograde.

VenusRx will last until 9/6/15. She’ll fly backwards through Leo all of August, and at 14 degrees Leo on 8/31, she’ll hook up in exact conjunction with Mars, who has been flying forwards towards her. These two are legendary lovers. They are the ultimate masculine and feminine coming together sexually.

Venus in Leo is a party. VenusRx brings up the past. VenusRx in Leo conjunct Mars is looking for – and will very likely find – a good time. It could easily be reckless spending, overeating/drinking, or sex with someone from your past. So from now until mid-September, be careful with your finances, be careful with your indulgences, and be careful with your romantic choices.

She won’t be in Leo forever. Whatever seduces you now, you’ll have to deal with the consequences of later.

Saturn has been retrograde since March and will go direct again tomorrow, 8/2, at 1:52am EDT. This Rx period took us back into the last couple of degrees of Scorpio, which are loaded with the power of transformation. The energy is here for us to work with, but the key element is that we have to want to work with it.

Saturn Rx sliding back to Scorpio turned this summer into another round of picking up the rock to see the bugs and worms underneath, like we had a year ago. Social revelations of secrets, particularly relating to shared finances (politics: campaign funding, how laws are really made; banking: CEO payrolls, Greek collapse), sex (Cosby; Jared from Subway ads), and death (Charleston church shooting; Lafayette movie theater shooting) were all over the news in a relatively short amount of time.

Now that Saturn energy will be reversing flow to direct, we’ll see Father Time moving forward again toward Sagittarius, arriving on 9/17/15 just hours after Mercury goes retrograde. Saturn in Sagittarius will only accept the truth, which is why the cleansing period in Scorpio – though unspeakably terrible at times – was important. How can we accept only the truth if everyone is lying about everything to begin with, and hiding motives that destroy lives? Scorpio shows us the truth, Sagittarius helps us process it and use it for higher good.

And with Mercury going Rx just before Saturn changes sign, we’re encouraged by the stars to begin our processing of the truth in a quiet, thoughtful, reflective manner – not running through the streets waving banners. There will be a time for that later.

Back to our current sky, though.

At the time of Saturn’s redirection, he sits as the square point in a multiple T-square where Jupiter and VenusRx are conjunct in Leo opposite the Moon and NeptuneRx conjunct in Pisces. I researched the degrees activated in Ellias Lonsdale’s book, “Inside Degrees”, and the gist is this: how ready are you to drop false ego and bring forth into the world whatever it is you’re here to do and/or manifest? What delusions and illusions do you cling to that distract and/or stop you?

Mercury, though not directly part of the T-squares, is in the 19th degree of Leo conjunct Jupiter and Venus. He is encouraging us to forge past our egos, our fears, and our worries – and that just because things might be difficult, uncomfortable, or downright painful in a moment to remember it isonly a moment. Move forward, even if it is through fire.

Each of us is here to purely and perfectly manifest our unique energy, our selves. And, we get to figure out how our selves harmonize with everyone else’s self. That relies on us managing our emotions and expectations (Saturn square Moon/NeptuneRx in Pisces) and releasing fear and false ego (Saturn square Mercury/Jupiter/VenusRx in Leo), so that we can – both as individuals and as a society - enact changes that come from us being able to handle the truth (Saturn direct in Scorpio heading toward Sagittarius).

And with all of the shit going down in the world today from factory farming/animal cruelty to people going broke paying for education and healthcare to sexual abuse/crimes to ignorance/racism/bigotry to our actual planet in jeopardy…that’s the best news I’ve heard in a while. Among the illusions we’ve been accepting are that any of those things are ok and no big deal, and that’s what it’s time to change, to process, to restructure.

Part of getting started will be realizing we’re not all superheroes, and everyone not on ”your side” isn’t a villain. Each of us, at times, is a saint and at other times an asshole. If we could come to terms with that, have a sense of humor about it, and make compassion our ground-zero, we might just find ourselves making the world better.

7/14/15: According to one definition of the phenomenon, we are in a Blue Moon Month, and right in the middle is our Cancer New Moon tomorrow night, 7/15, at 9:24pm EDT. So while on either end of July we have our moments to shine our emotions through Capricorn and Aquarius Full Moons, right here in the middle we are given the opportunity to go within and find our fulcrum, our center, our midpoint of balance…to remember how to breathe.

At the exact moment of the New Moon, the Sun, the Moon, Mars, and Mercury will form a stellum – a grouping of several astrological aspects in one sign – in Cancer (ruled by the Moon). The Sun and Moon together help us align our hearts and heads/thoughts and emotions/rationalizations and feelings, so that we can feel united within ourselves that we are moving in the right directions. Mars and Mercury bring us decisive action, give us the words to fight for what we believe, and help us keep our strategies flexible. All of these components in watery, feminine Cancer mean that whatever we’re aligning towards, working for, fighting for – has to do with our physical homes and/or our subconscious minds, and how we balance being nurtured with nurturing others.

Do you live where you want to live?

Do you live how you want to live?

Are you living with whomyou want to live?

How at home do you feel inside yourself, in your own heart and mind?

The Sun/Moon conjunction is part of a Water Grand Trine, connecting with retrograde Saturn in Scorpio and retrograde Chiron in Pisces. This is a second chance to change and heal any choices from before that weren’t the right fit.

The powerful unearthing and revealing effects of Rx Saturn in Scorpio are softened a bit by Saturn’s squares to Venus and Jupiter conjunct in Leo. Even though the relationship is a square which is usually a challenge to us to slow down and wait, any connection to the positive energies of Venus and Jupiter is a bonus to the mix. These two planets in Leo give us a chance to feel good, to look good, and to have as much fun as is possible in the moment. They remind of what we enjoy, of love, and of being with other people who enhance those things in us.

As you’re transitioning through whatever is difficult emotionally now, remember your friends, your family, and those loyal to you who’ve got your back. That same Venus/Jupiter conjunction is trine Uranus in Aries, which brings the unexpected, so don’t be too surprised if those same people who have your back are putting a “Kick Me” sign on it. That’s only to remind you to laugh at the absurdity of life.

Let the Uranian electricity lighten and light you up! It’s summer, be a firefly for an evening.

Uranus in Aries will be doing some other work for us , as well, by forming the square midpoint of several T-squares between retrograde Pluto in Capricorn opposite all of the action in Cancer (Sun/Moon conjunction, Mars/Mercury conjunction). Again, we’re presented with the restructuring of our homes, our subconscious states, and how we balance those with our careers, our broader social status, and the businesses we run, whether we run a corporation or a family. We may encounter sudden changes (Uranian energy is often unexpected) that catapult us into a new structure, a new phase.

Take it in stride if that happens to you – one foot in front of the other. Things will change again, so learn whatever is possible now through whatever experience you’re having.

Since retrograde Neptune in Pisces is the only planet I’ve neglected to mention, I’ll add that with a sextile to Rx Pluto in Capricorn and trine Mercury/Mars conjunct in Cancer, the planet of divine connection is opening a window for us to peak into heaven if we choose. But, of course, that takes our willingness to create the space for ourselves in which we are able to do that – to create sacredspacein which we have time alone, whether that’s to meditate or just be.

The way to that window isn’t outside of us, but inside.

6/16/15: We had a third-decan Gemini New Moon this morning at 10:05am EDT, conjunct the Sun and Mars. The addition of those two fiery masculine elements will increase our emotional experience quite a bit, likely contributing to our need to actively express how we feel. That could mean with passion and lust, or it may mean violent, angry, or aggressive ways. So watch out!

Also in the sky is a T-square with Mercury (no longer retrograde) in its home-base Gemini opposite retrograde Saturn in Scorpio, both square retrograde Neptune in home-base Pisces. If you AREN’T feeling a bizarre sense of your personal dreams being crushed…good for you! To clarify, it’s not that life is absolutely being squeezed from your fantasies and ambitions, it’s just that it probably feels like it.

At least if you’re a type-A person. If you’re a laid back, take-it-as-it-comes type, then you’re already on your front porch, spiked lemonade in hand, watching everyone else drive too fast in a tizzy over everything and nothing.

Who said your original plan was right, anyway? Uranus in Aries square retrograde Pluto in Capricorn reminds us that sometimes we have to seriously slow down to not miss the magic of a moment. And it’s that magic that inspires us to go forward again, when the time actually is right.

Why would we fight that? Because our human egos are smarter than the divine? Because our personal plans are better than what the universe might have in mind?

Uh-uh.

With Jupiter and Venus conjunct in Leo, we have no lack of love to find if we’re willing to receive it – to take those bold, unapologetic first steps toward it – and have a little fun.

6/1/15: The Full Moon in Sagittarius tomorrow, 6/2, at 12:18pm EDT will be opposite the Sun in Gemini on the zodiac. Both of these mutable, masculine signs have a tendency to get carried away with all of the energy they’re channelling…because it is a LOT.

Fiery Sagittarius brings us enormous generosity, physical prowess, and entertainment – but also challenges us to focus our abundant physical needs into the higher realms of thought, awareness, and intellect. Airy Gemini brings us a plethora of curiosity, advanced communication skills, and dexterity – but also challenges us to release our over-active mental and emotional energy through deeper, more grounded, slower outlets.

Both of these mutable signs are strong in flexibility, and working on stability and follow-through.

The Full Moon tomorrow will bring challenges and opportunities related to these two signs, with an extra boost of the Gemini side of things from a conjunction of Mars (the warrior) and retrograde Mercury (the communicator, also ruler of Gemini) with the Sun (our ego). At the time of the Full Moon there will be a Fire Grand Trine between Uranus in Aries, Jupiter in Leo, and the Moon in Sagittarius – good ingredients for a party full of fun and lots of the unexpected.

Along with that, there will be a triple T-square anchored by Neptune in Pisces, who will be square the opposition mentioned above (Moon in Sag opposite Mercury/Sun/Mars conjunct in Gemini). Neptune in Pisces is at home – the King of the Sea in his watery domain.

One of Neptune’s (Poseidon’s) symbols is horses; add to that the centaur symbol of Sagittarius, and we have something for which to be on the lookout. Every time you see a horse or horse reference for the next few days, take a second to pause and ask yourself “is what I’m doing putting energy in motion towards what I want, or am I just running in circles?”.

If horses aren’t your thing, a symbol of both Pisces and Gemini is the number three.

For Gemini, three represents it’s order in the zodiac as the third sign. Esoterically, although the number two is typically associated with Gemini, as in “the twins”, the number three is the higher vibration of Gemini energy. The number three represents the union of our inner selves – our hearts and our heads, our feminine and masculine sides, our dark and our light – with our higher selves, our intuition and conscious connection to the divine.

For Pisces, three is the number of prongs on Neptune’s (Poseidon’s) trident, representing the three states of existence: becoming, being, and dissolving. So, if you are finding “three” symbols, like the number 3, the Roman numeral III, triangles, or another form of the symbol, know that’s your cue to pause and ask yourself “am I connected to my higher self right now, and is what I’m doing rightly becoming, being, or dissolving?”. In other words, should you be creating, participating, or letting go…

So this is a lot already on our plates to think about. But like I said, Sagittarius and Gemini bring a LOT of energy, and this sky isn’t ready to quit.

We will also, at the exact time of the Full Moon, have a Yod (finger of God) with Jupiter in Leo sextile Mars in Gemini and both quincunx Pluto in Capricorn. This is a powerful, powerful stroke of luck for taking action towards your dreams…for anyone willing to accept it. Are you? Keep your eyes open, and when opportunity knocks – open the damn door.

5/29/15: Mars in Gemini is square Chiron in Pisces today, and as a result I am seeing news report after news report of dogs who have been seriously injured, some on purpose and some not. Copy and paste in a new browser to look at an example at your own risk: http://imgur.com/gallery/iE3u9

My heart feels like it’s being squeezed by the Hulk.

Can we make today an unofficial, one-time-only, World Animal Day? Just pay attention – do something helpful and loving for an animal. They are angels. Even when they sometimes piss us off with annoying behaviors, it’s our fault for not training correctly or giving them the right environments. They bring their perfect selves here to show us how to do better, be better.

Today, let’s collectively focus on that.

The Sun and Mercury are also both conjunct Mars in Gemini. One major aspect of Gemini energy is caring for non-human creatures – big and small – and children, the human kind.

There is a Grand Cross involving the cardinal signs – the signs that get things moving. Unique Uranus in warrior Aries, emotional Moon in balancing Libra, loving Venus in nurturing Cancer, and powerful Pluto in commanding Capricorn. They are telling us to get our asses in gear and help.

Is there a kid in your life who needs your time and presence? Is there an animal to whom you can go give affection and gratitude?

Do it.

5/4/15: The Moon was Full last night in Scorpio at 11:42pm EDT, and we’re still swimming in these waters until Tuesday morning when she will move into Sagittarius.

Scorpio energy is our deepest – our most personal, private, and powerful – and the Moon makes it even more emotional. What issues came up for you last night? Maybe something from long ago? What are you still mulling over this morning?

Also at the exact time of last night’s Scorpio Full Moon, Jupiter in Leo was quincunx Pluto in Capricorn. Here’s an excerpt from http://members.wizzards.net/~magyan/Jupiter_Aspects.html with more on that:

Jupiter quincunx Pluto

You may have deep, transformative experiences that are incompatible with your more traditional beliefs about life. Or your chosen path to success may seem incompatible with your need for personal transformation and spiritual growth. You may consciously try to keep the two separated in your life so as not to complicate your career choices, yet you could feel stifled and frustrated when you attempt to ignore or silence the transformative urges. There is a sense of paradox or a riddle involved in trying to bring the two needs into harmony. You make repeated efforts to incorporate both, but many adjustments and adaptations will be required. This is a challenging but highly creative process.

Where are you holding yourself back on your career path? Is it by thinking too big, or not big enough? Jupiter wants expansion, but Pluto demands control. Are you intuitively in touch enough to know what you want, and disciplined enough to do the work to have it?

What might you have to shake off – what traditional beliefs is it time to change? Does your current definition of “success” fit your innermost wishes for true happiness?

With Saturn Rx in Sagittarius continuing to slide back towards Scorpio, we’re going to have another “it’s time to get real” spell this summer. Saturn in Sagittarius is all about the real truth and nothing but the truth in a very philosophical, academic way…but retrograde Saturn in Scorpio is the covers being ripped off and exposing what – or who – is underneath. Face what came up in the past day or so, and deal with it now so that when your covers are gone, there’s nothing left to hide.

Mercury will be in Gemini for quite a while – from 4/30 until 7/8 – because Mercury will be retrograde from 5/18 through 6/11. Yes, you read that right: Mercury is going retrograde two weeks from today. So back up your phone, your files, and plug in your power surge protectors.

Mercury is at home in Gemini as the natural ruler of the Twins and will be traveling the sky with the Sun, who will also be in Gemini from 5/21 until 6/21 (Summer Solstice). If we really, really pay attention and slow down enough to notice, we’ll get some pretty amazing intuitive downloads from the Universe during that time.

This is one reason it’s so important to do our work now with this Scorpio Full Moon – to let the buried stuff rise to the surface – so that we don’t have cloudy waters when the communication comes to us in a couple of weeks. Remember, the Full Moon’s sign is the opposite of the Sun’s at any given point, so use your strong Taurus grounding (more on that in post below) that’s available to us all right now to weather the Scorpio storms. Value who you are, value your physical body, value your own time and how you direct your energy, and value other people because we are all walking each other home. And do what makes you happy.

4/29/15: Are you feeling the weight today? The weight of the world, the weight of your body, the weight of exhaustion, the waiting on things to come that aren’t yet here?

The energy around us today is filled with Earth. Sun, Mars, and Mercury in Taurus; Moon in Virgo; Pluto in Capricorn. And there’s a Grand Trine between Mars/Moon/Pluto, so the energy is really flowing.

How do we handle this?

Earth is heavy; it’s energy related to money and whatever else we value. It’s our relationship with our physical bodies, sensual pleasure and fertility. It’s setting up boundaries in our lives, building the structures within which we live our lives, and how we choose to share our bounty with others. It’s our balance between keeping what we need and being generous with others. It’s how we manage our patience.

It is, ultimately, our ability to manifest what we desire from the intangible into the tangible.

So of course it feels heavy.

Here’s the secret, though: Let It Be.

Earth is feminine, which means it operates from a position of RECEIVING and ALLOWING. Earth asks us to create and hold space. When we let that energy be, good things come to us because we get out of our own way. Let nature take her course as you hold space with Earth. The plant knows how to grow…it just needs the right conditions.

How can you manifest the conditions in your life that will bring the growth of things you truly want and desire? How much space can you give to your innate creativity, and how much patience will you have for its development?

This is our season for now, our work for today. If we learn to be in the flow of this, maybe we’ll be ready for what’s next.

4/1/15: Today, the Moon is in detail- , work-, and health-conscious Virgo, so you may be feeling compelled to watch what you eat, get your body moving, and have a productive day with projects. You may also be craving a little independence and space to give you time to get organized. A common association with Virgo is the “mother” archetype because the symbol is often a fertile or pregnant virgin or Demeter, but the essence of Virgo is readiness – the harvest, the nesting period, preparing for the next phase. Virgos are often very independent and prefer personal space to maternal entwinement. The truer “mother” archetype of the zodiac is Cancer.

Coming up this weekend on 4/4, the Full Moon will be in Libra and there will be a total lunar eclipse. There has been talk of it also being a “Blood Moon”, which really doesn’t mean anything…lol. It just sounds dramatic.

More impactfully, this Full Moon will come in with a Fire Grand Trine also in the sky between a Mercury/Sun/Uranus conjunction in Aries, Jupiter in Leo, and Saturn in Sagittarius. So, we will have the powerful energy of the fiery color RED one way or another. And what better hue to bring to a party with the Sun in Aries, lord of war and passion?

The Libra Moon will do her best to keep our emotions balanced, our interactions social and light, and our appreciation of the beauty around us high. But with the trickster (Mercury) and the instigator (Uranus) hanging out closely with our egos (Sun), we may be more interested this weekend in spontaneous fun and games over a garden party. Aries energy encourages us to get outside, go hiking, climb a mountain, have an extreme egg hunt with the kids to bring in the new year of Spring, fertility, and life. What can you put in the eggs that would be unexpected and fun? Get creative! Maybe fortune cookie fortunes, money, a clue for another egg’s location, a dare, and chocolate, of course.

Jupiter in Leo has been retrograde since 9/12/14 and goes direct again on 4/8/15, so it’s about time to get going again actively toward our goals of leadership in our lives, whether that means taking charge of your own path or being a leader for others, too. About a week later, Pluto in Capricorn will go retrograde on 4/16/15 until 9/24/15, adding an element through the Summer of slowing down to how we receive and handle power in our careers and how we deal with authority figures in our lives. This may be another period of illumination for us collectively on how power is being used and abused, and where it needs to change.

Saturn in Sagittarius is still sliding backwards towards Scorpio and won’t turn direct again until 8/2/15, once he’s dipped back into Scorpio territory. So again, through this Summer we’ll have a little flashback to who’s in power and how it’s working (or not), like we did last year. Things will come to light that have been hidden, power will change hands, and hopefully that will all be for the better.

3/19/15: New Moon in Pisces coming up on Friday, 3/20, at 5:36am EDT. Just after, the Moon and Sun will both move on into Aries at 6:27am and 6:45pm, respectively.

But not before the usually wallflower/background/voyeur personality of Pisces goes out with an uncharacteristic “BANG”, holding a stellum with Neptune, Mercury, Chiron, the Moon, and the Sun in its sign. Granted, the stellum is divided into two parts – Neptune/Mercury/Chiron in the earlier degrees and the Moon/Sun in the last degree – so the wallop isn’t as big as if they were all tightly together, but we still get a lot of Pisces power coming through us.

Oh, and did I mention the whole “solar eclipse/Supermoon/Spring Equinox”thing? This is some major Moon magic happening Friday. Got any plans? Because the Universe does for you, and it is a greattime to listen. When the Sun is eclipsed by the Moon, the Moon’s energy rules and things are about to change.

Any New Moon is the ultimate monthly time to meditate, go within, cocoon for healing, learning, and find direction on where next to plant our seeds. This one is like our regular New Moons on steroids, and then more steroids. And then some more.

Moon energy is feminine, emotional, and naturally linked to the maternal Water sign of Cancer. Even though she will be in Pisces tomorrow, the Water element remains. By nature the element of Water is changeable, and can be in the form of liquid (like the flowing tides of Cancer), solid (the icy hardness of Scorpio), or gas (the permeating, boundary-less mists of Pisces).

This misty energy in Pisces lends those with a lot of it in their astrological makeup an air of being ungrounded, otherworldly, open (maybe too much) with relationship boundaries, non-violent, the designated martyr, psychic, and spiritual (note: not religious…spiritual - two different things). Think Luna Lovegood in Harry Potter; few people understood her as she was always in her own magical world but she had an uncanny ability to know what was really going on.

How can we each tap into that energy within ourselves? Both the Sun and Moon will be in the last degree of Pisces, that final place on which to stand in the immaterial before taking the next step into life, into Aries, into the material, and begin the journey of the Fool upon which we all embark. This last degree can be described esoterically as:

“PISCES 30A large halo in ring formation around the moon.
The Earth is pregnant with alternate futures. Each of her progeny, each possible future could become the one chosen. The criteria center around whichever future stream is most genuinely surrendered to the highest will. It is the same microcosmically as macrocosmically. Many souls are pregnant with alternate futures. The one that prevails will likely be the one most surrendered to the absolute, the most rightful. You feel burstingly full of visions, possibilities, worlds, and streams. And you know that so very much shall pass away, but what is essential will keep on coming. It is very hard to tell who is who and what is what, which way to lean or how to conceive the way it shall go. But if you stay rooted in your inward awareness and enduring core sensibility, you will be tapped as a vessel for what is to be, and that is all you need to know.” ~from Inside Degrees, by Ellias Lonsdale

Whoa.

So we have the New Moon (eclipsing the Sun) in this potent last degree of Pisces, it is a Supermoon (appears bigger than normal), and it is the day of the Spring Equinox, which is the ultimate beginning for a new year’s cycle marking fertility and new life, and in several well-known ancient cultures marked the new calendar year.

But wait – there’s more!

Also in the sky at the exact moment of this New Supermoon is a Yod (remember definition from post below? “finger of God”) formed between Pluto, Mercury, and Jupiter.

Pluto is in earthy, practical, boundary-setting Capricorn sextile Mercury in watery/misty, spiritual, boundary-less Pisces, and both are quincunx Jupiter in fiery, dramatic, natural-born-leader Leo. Mythologically, Pluto connects to Hades/Pluto, god of the underworld and the afterlife; Mercury connects to Hermes/Mercury/Thoth, god of communication, travel, merchants, and knowledge; and Jupiter connects to Zeus/Jupiter/Amun-Ra, king of the sky, leader of the gods, and god of thunder, order, and justice.

So, this finger of God is pointing us in the direction of creation itself so that we might finally claim our birthright in it and become the creators that we are – to participate fully in this dance. The wallflower is ready leave the false security of watching from afar and spin across the dance floor, making real what has up to this point only been imagined.

It’s time to step into life.

The Yod is bolstering us with the power of establishing new structure and foundations, but only if we’re willing to face our karmic past with stark and determined truth; to see what’s been buried, exhume it, and discover our real potential from what we find rather than what we wish to see. This Yod also beckons us to wake up from our numbness, our resistance to the world burning down around us, and brings us the ability to talk with the Divine and hear the answers to our questions, however big/however small – because the answer will be the same.

Yep, it’s all about creating through Love. But you knew that. So whatever the first steps look like for you, in your life…take them.

Good luck, and Happy Spring.

3/5/15: The past few days and last weekend, we were collectively going through a doozy of a time with the Moon.

From Friday morning until Sunday evening the Moon was in mothering Cancer, during which time she passed through an opposition with Pluto in “Daddy” Capricorn that also formed a T-square with Mars, Venus, and Uranus burning away in the fires of Aries. These energies challenged us to face emotionally what we feel about how (or if) we’re nurtured properly – both by ourselves and the people in our lives from whom we expect to be nurtured. Pluto brings everything to the surface that’s been buried and especially loves to place us squarely in front of our fears; maybe this weekend you were given an opportunity to face something in your emotional home life that you’d pushed down into the black caverns of your frozen, underwater world of feelings hoping never again to have to deal with.

Whoomp, there it is.

Childhood fears of instability, lack of safety, vulnerability, abandonment? Check. Remember, this experience didn’t have to be a major drama worthy of a box of tissues, a pint of ice cream, or an Oscar for your performance. It could have been subtle (oh, Moon…you!), maybe so much that it slipped right by you.

Hopefully those of us going through it recognized what was happening and thanked the Universe for giving us yet another chance to finally set that baggage down so we can move on lighter, freer. It’s time to stop the childhood patterns that don’t serve us from repeating themselves like broken records in our adulthood. Been there, done that. No more energy to waste on it.

After that fun, the Moon moved on into Leo, passing by Jupiter and joining in the king of the sky’s quincunx with Pluto. Cause the opposition wasn’t enough. Really, though, the quincunx was like the debriefing, the sit down after the event to say “Hey, guys – it’s all ok. What did we learn?”

I think of a quincunx as having a bit of magic. Do you remember the game Chutes and Ladders? I truly fucking hate most board games (give me a puzzle any time/any day), but as a kid C&L was an exception. In the game, if you landed on the right space you were able to move your player straight up a giant ladder to another level and bypass several turns. Of course, there was also the same concept applied to chutes…

Let’s focus on the positive.

And speaking of the positive, not only did the Moon in ego-aware Leo conjunct Jupiter form a quincunx with Pluto, but also a quincunx with the Sun in psychic Pisces. And yes, the Sun and Pluto were sextile (I knew you were going to ask), so the entire formation was a double Yod, or “finger of God” which is pretty damn cool. And on top of all that, there was a multiple Fire Grand Trine involving Saturn in Sagittarius (boundaries of truth), Jupiter and the Moon conjunct in Leo (expansion of emotion and identity), and Mars/Venus/Uranus conjunct in Aries (actively enjoying the unpredictability of life).

This is our moment to unlock and unleash our ego trappings of the past, to (for real!!!) move onward into our lives with a newfound sense of power as we realize that our purpose - to create - flows through us and then right back on out.

We do not own anything. But we should enjoy everything we can on this ride. Finding joy wherever we can – through pain, sorrow, loss, excitement, happiness, or love – fuels our need and desire to create. And when we share our creations, we invite and enable others to enjoy along with us.

Finally today, the Moon in Virgo was Full at 1:05pm EST, at which time the Jupiter/Sun/Pluto Yod was still intact. While the Moon was no longer a part of that play, she was quincunx Venus and Uranus conjunct in Aries. She was also a part of two T-squares involving the Sun and Neptune in Pisces square Saturn in Sagittarius.

The energy of the Virgo-Pisces opposition brings us forward from looking to our mothers and fathers (or those archetypes in our lives) for support and nurturing to looking within ourselves and towards spirit for those things. The common square to Saturn in Sag sets us up to only accept the truth of what we discover. Saturn will go retrograde on 3/14/15, dipping back into Scorpio and demanding again that we see our deepest truths.

What are our health habits, of both body and soul? What work do we have to do in those areas? Where do we balance our focus on the details with our release of it all? And most of all with this Virgo/Pisces energy, how do we serve and understand each other?

According to the feminine energy of this year’s symbol, 2015 should be about restoring peace within ourselves, our relationships, and in the world. This is a good year to help heal the Earth.

With the element of Wood added to the Goat/Sheep, you may find yourself diversified among many projects as new ideas and opportunities spring up. Your ambition won’t be as high as last year when we were under the spell of the dynamic and creative Yang Wood Horse, and you’ll likely approach life with a more laissez-faire attitude than normal. You may be drawn to relying more on intellect and critical thinking than brute force or physical persuasion to solve issues. Learn to discern when your generosity is appreciated and when you’re being taken for granted.

And most importantly, know when to let go when things aren’t working and when to stay in the game and find a peaceful solution. That will be a challenge of the year – balancing initiative and drive with just wanting to enjoy life and the people and things with which you’ve surrounded yourself.

Good Luck!

Lucky numbers: 2 and 7

Lucky colors: green, brown, red, and purple

Lucky flowers: carnation and primrose

2/18/15: The New Moon is in airy, humanitarian Aquarius this evening at 6:47pm EST, conjunct the Sun – both at 29 degrees Aquarius, which is also the final degree and signifies the last and greatest ability of this sign to bring people, creatures, and planes of existence together unconditionally as one. It is unifying and oriented towards helping us understand our higher minds, higher selves, and higher aspirations – the ones that keep the greater good in the forefront and work for the benefit of everyone.

This conjunction precedes the Sun moving into Pisces at 6:49pm EST, where our individual and collective ego journies will turn our focus to less human but more spiritually-focused matters. So this is it for this year, tonight in Aquarius, to have this influence in such a beautiful combination of opportunity for us to realize our basic unity.

Who’s up for it?

Saturn in Sagittarius is a big player in this, square New Moon/Sun conjunct in Aquarius and Neptune in Pisces, sextile Mercury in Aquarius, and trine Venus/Mars conjunct in Pisces and Uranus in Aries.

The truth isn’t out there, it’s in here.

We know it by how it makes us feel deep inside, not at the levels of ego or desire, but at the level of our intuitive self. What does your gut tell you about whatever it is you’re questioning? Not what you think you should know, or what puts an emotional pacifier in your mouth, but what resonates so clearly with your core that despite any outside influence telling you otherwise, you know it to be true.

That’s our work tonight. You might even surprise yourself.

And once we figure this out inside each of us, we will carry that energy out into the world – for other people and creatures, and the Earth, as well.

2/3/15: Full Moon in Leo tonight at 6:08pm EST, conjunct Jupiter in Leo, too. The Leo Moon is opposite the Aquarian Sun and reminds us to balance our goals with whatever our hearts may be telling us. Having visions of making life better and wanting to help others are noble aspirations, and doing those things with passion and heartfelt truths brings a power to our actions that isn’t possible without those motivations. The intensity of seeking the truth, sharing knowledge, and being passionate are heightened by the Moon’s conjunction to Jupiter.

Chatty Retrograde Mercury is conjunct the Sun in Aquarius, an energetic connection that urges us to express ourselves in some way, be it technologically, by making something with our hands, or through voicing our thoughts. With Merc Rx, though – make sure you double-check everything before sharing.

We also have a Fire Grand Trine today with the Moon in Leo, Uranus in Aries, and Saturn in Sagittarius. This makes our creativity want to burn, so fuel your inner fire with the best kindling you can find. What do you most need to express today? How can you do that in a way that is passionate, unique, and truthful to you? Maybe it’s sharing your feelings with someone, maybe it’s your desire to change careers, maybe it’s finally making that idea in your head real.

Whatever it is, let this dynamic energy help you release it into the world. You never know who else might be waiting for your expression to be the catalyst they need for theirs. No matter how alone we feel at times, no one’s life is a vacuum. We are all connected and sharing ourselves in truthful and creative ways is what helps us all get a little closer to each of us fulfilling our creative natures.

There is a stellum in Pisces with Neptune, Venus, Chiron, and Mars. Like I posted below, we have the opportunity now to actively reconnect with our spiritual natures in a way that heals us and others. With the addition of Venus to this mix, we can find an unusually high appreciation for beauty today, especially regarding whatever is holy, spiritual, or otherwise sacred to each of us. Go admire a stained glass window or the architecture of your favorite church; stand outside and find humble reverence in the splendor of the natural world; find holiness in the seemingly simple but truly incomprehensible complexity of a flower, a ladybug, a leaf – whatever.

This may be easier while enjoying a glass of wine, but either way, give the beauty around you a chance to permeate the barrier of your awareness for just a little while – just long enough to get lost in appreciation, awe, and wonder.

That’s step one to reconnecting spiritually – the reminder that life is so much more than performing our routines, our chores, our menial interactions with distraction, detachment, or apathy. Those routines, chores, and interactions are all potential moments of fullness, of connection, of engagement. Start to see each and every moment in your day – just for today – as opportunities for spiritual encounters. See the beauty in each moment for it’s ultimate potential – potential otherwise missed without that awareness – that is akin to the beauty of the cathedral, Nature, or a singular object of unfathomable complexity.

The moment is when and where our work begins.

1/21/15: Yesterday’s New Moon in Air-ruled, scientific Aquarius followed the Sun’s move into Aquarius by only a few hours, making them exactly conjunct at zero degrees (the first degree) of the sign and intensifying the already electric Uranian energy around us. The Sun shifted at 4:43am EST and the Moon at 8:13am EST. And today, communicating Mercury went retrograde at 10:54am EST and will be until 2/11 (the numbers “2″ and “11″ being Uranian/Aquarian-energized numbers, adding yet another dose to the mix).

At the time of the New Moon, sensual Venus and mentally-active Mercury were conjunct in Aquarius at 16 degrees (Mercury) and 21 degrees (Venus). Dreamy Neptune, action-oriented Mars, and wounded healer Chiron were conjunct in watery, psychic Pisces at five (Neptune) and six (Mars) and 14 (Chiron) degrees, and Aquarius’s ruler, Uranus, was at 12 degrees Aries.

Uranus and Pluto are square now, and Uranus in warlord Aries is waxing towards an exact square with Pluto in commanding Capricorn on 3/17/15. The outer planets (Uranus, Neptune, Pluto) move slowly compared to our Earth-time and take a while to change in relationship to each other, so their influences and effects can last a generation’s-worth of time.

Uranus-Pluto interactions are intense – as in volcanic, eruptive, cathartic, destructive. Those don’t have to be negative things. After all, a volcanic eruption is the birth of new earth as lava flows and hardens, creating the ultimate fertile ground.

Any energy has a spectrum of possible expressions. Think of Pluto’s energy, for example; it’s centered on power, change, and the cycle of death and rebirth. Depending on how an individual (or group) handles these influences, the expressions can be very different. A person who is able to link with the cyclical nature of the universe can see the death of something or someone as natural and part of the bigger picture, leaving room afterwards for the start of something new. It doesn’t mean that person doesn’t feel loss, grief, or other thoughts and emotions related to death, it means that person can experience those things and emerge through them – instead of giving away personal power to the death, that person becomes empowered by accepting the process and reemerges empowered for whatever is next, because even if it’s not for a while, something is always next.

The opposite of this, a “negative” expression of Pluto would be not accepting death, change, or natural cycles. This is where people get lost in grief, despair, victimization, or harm themselves or others. This is where power is abused, with people asserting it over others in unbalanced, horrible ways. This is where the integration of dark and light is completely lost to the favor of dark, sometimes in the insidious disguise of light.

No, thank you.

So for the next couple of months as we head towards the exact squaring-off of Pluto and Uranus, let’s use the fantastic energy Aquarius, the sign Uranus rules, is bringing us today to set this up right.

- Retrograde Mercury in Aquarius: time to listen, because it’s the Universe’s turn to talk and we don’t want to miss what it has to say

- Venus in Aquarius, a position offering us the capacity to love all equally

- Mars/Neptune/Chiron conjunct in Pisces, offering motivation for self and communal healing and connecting actively to ourselves, the divine

- Uranus (ruler of Aquarius) in mid-decan Aries, ripe with the energy of a ruler, sovereignty, the ultimate individual who will have freedom at all costs

Saturn in Sagittarius is keeping the truth at the forefront (hopefully with humor), and with a square to Neptune/Mars conjunct in Pisces is reminding us to back up our intuitive hunches with facts – do the research – and then share your knowledge, encompassing the teaching energy of Sagittarius.

Jupiter in Leo is reminding us of our innate regality, our natural-born right to rule our lives, and is in opposition to Venus/Mercury conjunct in Aquarius to tell us that even though we can love “all” right now, that love originates within each of us as individuals. Jupiter in Leo trine Uranus in Aries is adding thunder to the lightening, backing our initiatives with strength.

Stoke your inner spark first, so your love can burn fiercely enough for others, too. We fight for what we value, so find value within yourself and others.

We’re meant to do this life, so let’s do it.

1/13/15: Mars, planet of action and assertion, moved into watery, mutable Pisces yesterday morning at 5:20am EST and is conjunct Pisces’s ruler, Neptune. Additionally, Neptune is conjunct Chiron in Pisces, who lies on the other side of Neptune. With Mars also trine the Moon in Libra, it is reasonable to expect a surge in intuition or psychic “knowing”. Mars in Pisces will bring sensitivity to the forefront of our actions and make compassion a motivation. We may even be actively driven towards spirituality and connecting with ourselves, others, and our world through divine methods: meditation, dreams, and visions.

Whatever you’ve been trying to rebalance in your life, now is a good time to meditate on it if you’re really looking for the answer, the one from your gut that tells you how things are no matter what your thoughts and emotions are saying.

And with communicative Mercury and sensual Venus conjunct in airy, rational Aquarius in opposition to expanding Jupiter in fiery, ruling, and creative Leo, your thoughts and emotions are probably battling between rational “what’s good for everyone” moralizations and ego-driven “but what do I want” self assertions relative to long-term goals. Classic “me or them” issues…do you choose what serves the group/community, or what serves you? Is there a way to choose both, or at least a compromise that keeps things in balance?

With the heart-driven Moon and karmic North Node in Libra, that’s our mission for the moment.

Stolid, practical Saturn in fiery, philosophical Sagittarius is square Mars and Neptune, demanding the truth be a part of the figuring. Pisces, who sees the unseen and connects so well with the intangible, has a tendency to bend the truth to fit the situation – to be liberal with details and the need for proof, as this spiritual sign relies on faith. But Saturn won’t allow that leniency, and with the lawyering influence of Sagittarius, will expect a full report of all evidence before finalizing any decisions.

Our ego, the Sun, is currently in Saturn’s home – earthy, commanding Capricorn – and is conjunct Pluto, planet of power. Pluto rules watery, intense Scorpio, which is where the Last Quarter Moon will be moving tonight at 6:43pm EST.

The stars are aligning nicely to help us in decision making. They can’t decide for us, but they can give us energetic aid. So when you’re mulling over a situation in your life and looking for divine intervention for the answer, ask for proof.

If the answer is right, you’ll get it.

1/4/15: Full Moon in Cancer tonight at 11:53pm EST – are you already feeling the rise of your emotions and the pull of being with family, whether you want more time with them or, at the end of this holiday season, have simply had enough!? The Sun and Moon are always in opposition when the Moon is Full, so with this Cancer Moon we remain under the glow of a Capricorn Sun, currently conjunct Pluto in Capricorn (also opposite the Moon).

The Capricorn Sun/Pluto conjunction reminds us to establish our personal power and position in life through strong, healthy boundaries – and the opposition to the Cancer Moon reminds us that putting those parameters in place won’t always feel good or be a comfortable process. Sometimes we have to feel a jolt of lightening to set us in motion, and luckily we’ll have that with Uranus in Aries forming squares to both. Completing this temporary celestial cardinal Grand Cross is the North Node in Libra, opposite Uranus in Aries and also square both the Moon and the Sun/Pluto conjunction.

The North Node, our karmic path in this lifetime, reminds us we have a greater purpose, that there is a bigger picture, and that we are walking the road. The energy of Libra infuses us with balance, fairness, justice, and the ability to see beauty in ourselves, others, and the world.

So collectively we are still working on forming our identities – our stronger sense of self – in balance with our need to nurture and be nurtured, spurred on by sudden inspirations and epiphanies, and balanced by our karmic truths.

Look around and see where this is happening – in government, in schools, in religious and/or spiritual communities, in corporations, in your workplace, in your home, in your family, and in your own thoughts. What’s being rebalanced? What authority is being tested? Where is the energy shifting?

You don’t have to be in judgment of whatever is changing (or needs to change) – you don’t have to set any expectation about any of it, either. Just observe – use your power to become as objectively aware as possible. Then see where that takes you.

We’ve got some help doing this with Venus having moved into Aquarius yesterday and Mercury moving into Aquarius tonight, bringing a more objective, scientific approach to us through our senses and thoughts. Aquarian energy is quirky, progressive, unusual, utilitarian, humanitarian, and prescient – able to see into the future before the rest. With Venus and Mercury (our hearts and heads) resonating with that energy, we have the opportunity to step back a little from our more egocentric patterns and habits and see what is good for all of us a bit more clearly.

And with Saturn now in Sagittarius (although there will be a brief retrograde stint back to Scorpio soon), we are getting real about what is truth and what is not.

Happy New Year!

12/21/14: This evening is the Winter Solstice – the shortest day of sunlight of the year when the Sun has its lowest peak in the sky and “stands still” before we switch from shortening days to lengthening ones. It is when Winter begins and the Sun moves into Capricorn, which will be at 6:03pm EST today. Winter is no longer coming – it’s here!

Just before the Solstice, Uranus will go direct (Uranus was retrograde since 7/21/14). Just after the Sun moves into Capricorn, the New Moon in Capricorn will occur tonight at 8:35pm EST.

By themselves these energies of the Sun and Moon speak of the time to burrow, to nest, to hibernate, and to hunker down for the season. Combined as they are, they shout it. Historically, Winter represents connection to community for survival, home for warmth, and using resources gathered and the feasting celebrations of Autumn to get us through the next few cold, harsh, and often unforgiving months until Spring and a new growing season begin.

Of course, that was before central heating and fully-stocked, 24-hour grocery stores.

These days that same idea is more of an esoteric notion for most of us – one that we can bring into our awareness on a spiritual level and through our inner work. We started 2014 in the gestation of Winter, planted our seeds and grew our dreams through Spring and Summer, harvested our work and enjoyed our bounties in Autumn, and are now returning to the ground for Winter again, the completion of the cycle that will soon turn into another period of gestation and emergence for 2015.

We’ll have a stellum in Capricorn of the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Pluto, and Venus – aligning within us an opportunity in these next few days for growth by way of conscious connection between our heads and hearts. And, an opportunity to recognize we are each inherently valuable and made of love and because everything comes from the same source and is connected, so is everyone else.

We’re entering a time when, by the knowledge of our individual worth and compassionate connection to ourselves, we see the same in others – not just people, but animals, plants, the environment, the Earth and and everything/one on her. Fear separates us, but remembering we’re in this together brings us back again.

12/10/14:People! Collectively, we are still on Fire - and even more so now with multiple Grand Trines: Uranus in Aries, Moon in Leo, Sun in Sagittarius AND Uranus in Aries, Moon in Leo, Mercury in Sagittarius AND Uranus in Aries, Jupiter (just went retrograde 12/8) in Leo, Sun in Sagittarius AND Uranus in Aries, Jupiter in Leo, Mercury in Sagittarius.

Jupiter went retrograde this past Monday, 12/8, and will remain so until 4/8/15 – bringing the ruler of Sagittarius, Zeus/Jupiter/king of the sky, to a slower, more thoughtful pace. This is when the philosopher persona of this ever-expanding planet can step in and have a moment in the light. It’s an opportunity for us to direct the vast energy he brings us more mindfully. We can bring thoughtfulness, foresight, and intellect to our choices that grow the acorns of our long term goals in the oak trees of our future.

And speaking of things becoming more substantial, more solid – Venus entered Capricorn this morning at 11:41am EDT and is sextile Neptune in Pisces, trine Jupiter Rx in Leo. This is a time of making what you want in life your reality – or at least trying your damnedest. It’s that leap off of the cliff to see if those wings you’ve been flexing can fly. And you know what? Today, we have a pretty good chance for that happening, for manifesting our dreams. Look for the opportunities for alchemy in your life.

We can also count Sun/Mercury energy conjunct in Sagittarius as a unit. With the god of communication conjunct the god of ego in the realm of anything goes, then – well – anything goes as far as what could come out of our mouths right now.

Sagittarians are frank and to-the-point, which sometimes is charming and hilarious and sometimes is downright rude and crude. It’s up to each individual to figure out to which end of the speaking spectrum s/he will gravitate. Choose words wisely!! Can’t put them back into our mouths once they’re out…

If you have a significant amount of Earth or Water in your natal chart, this may prove a difficult day, as those feminine energies tend to be opposite the masculine Fire and Air energies that feed off of days like this. But Earth and Water can still find opportunity for expression in this mix – look for ways to empower yourself when you are confronted with those blasts of heat – find a focus, a structure, a slow and intentional way to handle and harness the Fire. Try to pause when you feel yourself react with anger, resentment, frustration, or resistance; could just be that pause – that breath – that gives you the extra ten seconds you need to creatively find the solutions you want and need.

Don’t be turned off by the Fire people around you – join the dance with your own moves and rhythm!

All that passionate, creative, inspired Fire energy (see post below) should be even higher today.

What’re you gonna do with it???

12/6/14: As we near the end of 2014, we are experiencing the last Full Moon of the year. At 7:26am EDT this morning, the Gemini Full Moon brought us into today. Gemini energy is about mental energy and communication – writing, speaking, music, technological communications, our brothers and sisters, short-distance and short-term traveling, and being open to divine whispers. Combined with the Moon, this brings us an emotional aspect to how we mentally process our world today.

At the exact time of the Full Moon, the Sun and Mercury (ruler of Gemini) conjunct in Sagittarius, Jupiter in Leo, and Uranus in Aries form a double Fire Grand Trine (see post below for the one just a few days ago involving Venus in Sag).

Additionally, we have a T-square with the Sun/Mercury conjunction in Sagittarius opposite the Gemini Moon, both square Neptune in Pisces – again separated from the previous conjunction with the healer, Chiron.

So the questions for today: Passion is strong, but is it put in the right places? Creativity is unchained, but are we creating for instant gratification or for eternity? Inspiration is high, but are we getting high off of it or allowing it to raise our whole selves?

What structures are we still working on individually and collectively?

What’s got to go, what changes on fundamental levels need to happen, and where are we placing our power?

Where are we giving, and where are we taking? Are we able to receive and find the quiet balance to all that we “do”?

Who’s running this thing, and who’s along for the ride?

And ultimately, what is bringing us to better know ourselves, each other, and the joy in those connections?

Maybe let loose a little today, let the Fire burn until anything in the way turns to ash and blows away – and then we can get a good look at the ground on which we’re standing.

11/30/14: It’s time to let your creativity ignite with the Fire Trine in the sky today: Uranus in Aries, Jupiter in Leo, Venus in Sagittarius.

Mythologically, that’s Prometheus on a warpath for humankind’s progress, Zeus – thunderbolts blazing – reigning with all his glory from his throne, and Aphrodite on a mission for more – of exactly what is up to us individually, be it higher thought or baser expressions – the scholar or the randy partier.

Venus is square the waxing first-quarter Moon in Pisces, which will transition later today into Aries at 8:13pm EDT. Squares bring a note of caution to slow down a little so we don’t miss the message, the devil in the details – this one is saying be careful to use emotional intuition today.

Venus is also conjunct the Sun in Sagittarius, so our egos are egging on our desires – we tell ourselves it’s good to want what we want simply because we want it. And maybe it is – maybe from time to time we need that ego-based reinforcement to go after what we want more of in our lives.

“Ego” isn’t a bad word, and isn’t synonymous with “selfish” – it’s about balance. As long as we’re not hurting people to get the life we want and are holding our intentions to their highest expressions of good, then go for it, with intuition locked and loaded. We’re here to create, and today is a good day for that.

11/25/14: Pre-holiday post, since things are kind of intense right now…

Our waxing Capricorn Crescent Moon is shining down on us conjunct Pluto and Mars, also in Capricorn. Pluto and Mars aren’t conjunct, but their energies are joined by the Moon in the middle, casting an emotional nature to our senses of authority and power. The Moon has had enough of power and authority being misused. These two strong and intense planets that rule Scorpio (power/sex/death/taxes/collective health/revenge) and Aries (headstrong/warrior/thinker/bloodlust/loner) are not going to see things very objectively today.

Maybe they shouldn’t.

Our emotions can guide us back into balance when life has tipped too far to one side or the other. Emotions are our guideposts; when something feels wrong in your heart…it is. If something in your life is making you angry right now, then deal with it – face it. Anger can be the catalyst for the changes you need. See it for the real role it plays – anger shouldn’t be a lifestyle, but it has its usefulness.

Mercury and Saturn are conjunct in Scorpio, ready to communicate to the world a new way of doing things, taking down an old structure first to have the space to build one that serves us better.

The world needs a Scorpio/Pluto-energy leveling once in a while before we can get back into balance. It’s not often a happy experience and definitely isn’t sugar-coated, frosted, or covered in sprinkles – but we should cut back on sugar, anyway.

Neptune has synced up with Chiron in Pisces again, so we’re back on track for individual and collective healing after their momentary separation.

Uranus in Aries is working overtime to manage all of the changes we have coming – trine Jupiter in Leo, Venus in Sagittarius, and the Sun in Sagittarius; square Pluto/the Moon/Mars in Capricorn.

I know you all can feel the aggression out there right now; it’s been a topic of conversation lately on both large and small scales. Just try driving/parking right now. It’s a madhouse like always this time of year, but it feels heightened and more aggressive than usual even for the holiday rush. It’s not that anyone is out to get us personally, necessarily; it’s more of an egocentric mad dash without regard for the thousands of others around.

Let’s take what we see and channel it through the higher vibrations of intelligent thinking, stepping back to see the bigger picture, and transforming lower-based energy with observance, acceptance, and release. When someone cuts you off, throw some love waves at them telepathically – not that you have to love them specifically, but more like you’re hoping their own heart chakra opens up to the love in their life.

Add a couple more chakra bombs to settle their root chakras (so they can release fear and feel more secure, realizing rushing around is self-imposed) and third eye chakras (recognizing their personal messages from the divine, understanding we’re all in this together).

You don’t have to feel personally involved or invested in the aggression you see around you right now; and that’s kind of the whole point – other people’s aggression is more about them, so don’t take theirs in or on as yours because that is keeping it going!!

Don’t pay anger forward.

Let it go – breathe – release – and realize you’re as free as you want to be. Stay present for what’s real and try not to get twisted from what isn’t even yours.

We fall into these patterns and don’t even realize we’re doing it. You have CHOICES!

Let it go – breathe – release – and realize you’re as free as you want to be. Stay present for what’s real and try not to get twisted from what isn’t even yours.

Choice is your power, and within that power you have choice. Even if you’re materially locked – you can’t change your physical circumstances – you still have spiritual choices. Those can be the most important kind.

Let it go – breathe – release – and realize you’re as free as you want to be. Stay present for what’s real and try not to get twisted from what isn’t. even. yours.

11/21/14: Tomorrow morning at 4:38am EDT the Sun moves into Sagittarius. Tomorrow at 7:32am EDT is the New Moon in Sagittarius. They will both be in the first degree (0 degrees) Sagittarius and are joining Venus (who will be at 7 degrees) in the sign to form a three-part conjunction. All in all, that is a lovely formation of luck in love (spiced up by a trine to Uranus in Aries) or money (more a temporary aspect for the money, as Sagittarius will burn it as fast as it earns it).

Sounds awesome, right?

Weelllll…. Lemme tell you a little about Neptune before you buy a thousand lottery tickets or get too worked up. At the time of the New Moon tomorrow, Neptune in Pisces at four degrees will be square the Moon/Sun/Venus conjunction in Sagittarius and Saturn in Scorpio.

So regarding whatever situation in which you find yourself, those squares are saying “Hey, um, guys? Is this a good idea?” But Sag energy is all “HELL YEAH IT IS!” And Neptune is like “I dunno…if it feels good it must be good, right? There are no real consequences in this big ‘ole dream we’re dreamin’…” and Saturn is just coldly staring at everyone, seeing them for the idiots we are and thinking “Pretty sure we’ve all been through this and figured out it wasn’t a good idea.”

See, Neptune has lost connection through conjunction to Chiron, so what we’re doing isn’t necessarily linked to our healing for the moment. For the moment, it is more linked to dumb decisions. But my husband always has said:

So in that vein, let the darkness of this first degree Sagittarian New Moon be where you leave whatever is holding you back from shooting forward like an arrow on Fire from the bow of your “now”, for now is our new starting point, our new beginning, our ground zero for our wiser, more grounded, more focused future.

Once our reality check has hit, this Sag energy is truly about the boundaries of our hearts bursting – the expansion of our aspirations and inspiration – the aiming of the archer to our highest goals – the unapologetic pursuit of higher truths in our lives.

Btw, this energy and influence in your life can be as mundane as cleaning your home or as monumental as changing the foundational relationships in your life. Astrology is an energetic guide, but how/when/where we each apply it – now that’s a different story. The stars and planets aren’t making choices for you, they’re moving about in ways that helpyou make whatever choices you want. Choose wisely. Or not – see above for justification.

11/16/14: Couple of things happening in the sky today – Venus moves into Sagittarius at 2:03pm EDT and Neptune in Pisces went direct at 2:05am EDT after being retrograde since 6/9/14.

Venus is often equated with love, and while it’s true she brings us that feeling, it is more important to realize it’s a feeling. Venus is sensuality: touch, texture, taste, sound, sight, smell – beauty in all ways and in all the things we “love” or think we do.

Venus in Sagittarius is all of that plus more…Big Love.

Jupiter rules Sagittarius and brings expansion to whatever he touches; when he touches Venus, we can look forward to more parties than usual (fitting for the holiday season), to good food, good wine, and yes, to good sex.

Today, there is a square between Venus and Jupiter in Leo and also a square between Venus and Neptune in Pisces. These energies will get us off to a slower start with this shift of Venus into Sagittarius.

They give us an extra minute to choose well, to only accept the invitations to events we truly want to attend, and help us to be more thoughtful in all of our choices once we’re there. With a more careful look at Jupiter we can see his philosopher side and how even though he is the life of the party, he can also help raise the vibration of the room by reminding us all we have a higher purpose. We can have a good time mindfully and while being wholly present, by Jove. No need for drunk shenanigans or post-party regrets this year!

The square to Neptune in Pisces is still working on healing us slowly, slowly.

And now that Neptune is direct again, our healing will speed up a little compared to the past few months, along with our ability and willingness to share our healed selves with others so that they might heal, too.

Our cocooning is coming to an end as we realize it’s butterfly time again.

11/10/14: So this part of my website (Current Sky) is just that…current. It has a “carpe diem” intention…

Today, the disseminating Moon is at home in watery, emotional, moody Cancer and opposite both Pluto and Mars, who are exactly conjunct at 11 degrees in earthy, practical, authority-focused Capricorn. If you’re in Charlotte, this home vs outside world/heart vs head/family vs career dance between the Midheaven and IC is even more pronounced, as the Cancer Moon is conjunct the Imum Coeli, the bottom of the sky and our private/innermost selves – while the Capricorn Pluto/Mars coupling is conjunct the Midheaven, the top of the sky and our public/outermost selves.

Also, the Cancer Moon represents our mothers or maternal selves and Capricorn energy represents our fathers or paternal selves. This is a classic feminine-masculine balance we all search for within ourselves and also in our outer lives.

The 11th degree of Capricorn illuminates for us our tendencies to obsess about what we want and what we don’t want, often to the point of pulling us so distractedly far out from reality that we lose sight of what we could be focusing on to better our lives, and end up messing things up for ourselves when we should have left them well enough alone. The deep and dark intensity of Pluto and the fiery need for action of Mars will in no way make this easier! Those two planets both bring a lot of sex, lust, desire, and ice and Fire to the table – and those feelings always clear our heads to help us see things in our best interest, right? :/

Luckily for us we have Mercury, the Sun, Venus, AND Saturn in watery, intense, power-searching Scorpio to remind us to slow down when we are running circles in our minds (or hearts, or groins).

Center.

Ground.

Steady.

Breathe.

What is the divine whisper you’re blocking yourself from hearing?

The Cancer Moon way down in the IC is trying to tell you.

Today is a good day to take care of yourself. Today is a good day to take care of other people or creatures you love. Check in with your family, or at least your inner feelings about them. There may be a message you need to hear from your ancestors – an intuition – about someone still here who needs you. Maybe you’re the caretaker today, or maybe you need care. Maybe it’s a good night to cook, watch a movie, take a bath, and go to bed.

Today is current, temporary – but eternity is held in any given moment. Let’s honor the energy of today, because tomorrow is coming and we’ll have needed our rest.

And speaking of tomorrow, 11/11, we can take time to honor our many US veterans and military members on Veteran’s Day. (Click that link to read the significance of Veteran’s Day and the number eleven.)

As someone raised a USAF brat, I am very grateful!

11/5/14: Tomorrow, 11/6, is the Full Moon in Taurus at 5:22pm EDT.

Jupiter in Leo and Uranus in Aries are big players in the event, and thankfully they’re getting along beautifully with a harmonious trine.

Jupiter has some work to do testing our boundaries through squares to the Taurus Moon (buried and/or rigid emotions), Saturn in Scorpio (intimate boundaries), Venus in Scorpio (our deepest connections to beauty and pleasure), and the Sun in Scorpio (how we discover and identify with our personal power). Take a deep breath, because this energy may also bring up health issues on the more serious side.

Fiery, Sagittarius-ruling Jupiter, king of the sky, wants to expand, press onward and outward, always needing to raise our physical and intellectual vibrations – and being in Leo adds even more Fire to his force. Jupiter in Leo makes us want to look good as we grow (the caution here is making sure intentions are pure – that we’re not on any ego trips).

The Uranus in Aries factor will see to that by making us get creative, encouraging us to find that sudden inspiration, to listen to the angels, and to work in a way that is good for everyone. Our biggest struggle in the next few days is actually hearing what those angels are telling us, as Uranus is square Pluto and Mars conjunct in Capricorn. That will spell trouble for any of us trying too hard to push *cough…bully* our way through whatever we’re facing.

In fact, both Pluto and Mars are trine the Taurus Moon and the Scorpio Sun, so if we follow our instincts and manage to balance heart and head/emotions and thoughts, then we’ve got this.

Right?

Yes. Definitely.

This Full Moon is very much about a test of our strength, our will, to hold to all of the things we’ve recently learned. Don’t let it be for naught.

Stick to your boundaries – you know, the ones you realized through the difficult experiences that you need - and value within yourself what you really, really WANT – not from a standpoint of fear or lack, but from the innate and intimate knowledge that you are here and that is enough. You matter. You will bring forth something special, something uniquely your gift, to enjoy in this lifetime. And bonus, if you’re happy, then that’s what you’re spreading to others.

Go find your special purpose!

10/31/14: If Lauryn Hill has taught us anything other than that we should pay our taxes, it’s that everything is everything. It’s all connected. Let’s take a look at part of the web for today…

North Node and Mercury are conjunct in second decan Libra right now. Are you feeling capricious, fickle, mercurial, temperamental, or downright bi-polar? Maybe it’s just that you can’t decide on your Halloween costume.

According to the sky, this is a normal state in which to be for the moment. Agitating this mood is an opposition to Uranus in second decan Aries – whose authority is testing you? Where in your life are you tempted to lower your standards to get what you “want” because something or someone else seems to be standing in your way? How clearly are you really reading this situation? (Pro tip: don’t eat too much sugar today or thinking straight could be extra difficult.)

Both the North Node/Mercury in Libra conjunction and Uranus in Aries are square Pluto in second decan Capricorn, so it could be that your fear of power is messing with your head. There is a part of each of us that wants to be in charge. Some of us need to express this more than others; some of us need this take-charge energy in our personal lives and some of us need it more externally, like professionally – but we all have a bit of it, however it’s expressed.

Are you afraid you won’t ever prove – either to others or yourself – that you deserve respect, authority, and the best in life? Are you resorting to putting anyone else down, stepping on anyone else’s back, or stabbing them there to feel more successful in life?

Uh-uh. It’s time to grow up. Hit the “no” button.

Take the high road.

Use your social surfing skills for good. No lying, no gossiping, no negative manipulating. Lift up or shut up. The presence of the the North Node in this equation speaks “KARMA!” about as loudly as it can. It’s a pretty clear message.

The lovely Venus/Sun conjunction in Scorpio is here to remind us our true power comes from, well, love – of self and others. When we put our attention there we are able to see our choices a bit more clearly, simply. We don’t have to have drama unless we choose it – or “want” to see circumstances that way.

I love that this is happening on Halloween, our day to honor the dead and our shadow sides. Call on the spirits of protection, of justice, of love, of kindness, and of fun to surround you tonight. They’re already here, but it’s nice to acknowledge them once in a while!

Everything is everything.

Happy Halloween!!

10/25/14: Mercury in harmonizing Libra goes direct today at 11:31pm EDT. If you’ve felt it while retrograde, you’ll likely feel this transition, too. Two other imminent movements will be the newly waxing Moon (our emotions) into spontaneous, fiery Sagittarius just into tomorrow, 10/26, at 12:39am EDT and Mars (our actions) into practical, earthy Capricorn on 10/26 at 6:42am EDT.

Any time a shift occurs – a change of direction, a change of house position, a change of constellation, a change in the phase of the Moon – we feel it on our subtler levels. Our physical bodies, our temperaments, our patterns of thought are all subconsciously affected.

Until we consciously attune.

Awareness starts with paying attention, just simply noticing and observing ourselves and what happens around us. Sometimes we are so attached to our assumptions, judgments, opinions, and expectations that we see a reality around us that is an extension of our inner unreality. And when we are confronted with an actual external reality we don’t deal with it well because to do so we would first have to admit we are wrong. Who wants to do that? If fear is why we were choosing unreality, the reality that invokes enough courage to move past fear and see would have to be pretty huge.

With a concentration of energy in intense, watery Scorpio today, we may just get that opportunity.

Scorpio energy pulls us down to our deepest levels and asks us to transform. The Sun (our sense of self) and Venus (our sense of pleasure) are exactly conjunct at two degrees, and the Moon and Saturn (our responsibilities) are conjunct at 21 and 23 degrees, respectively. The Moon moves rather quickly, though, and will pass right over Saturn to be exactly conjunct later today before moving along into Sagittarius just past midnight, EDT. The Moon/Saturn conjunction is square Jupiter (our need to expand in life) in commanding, fiery Leo.

That square in the sky is telling us to slow down, to look within, to examine our assumptions, our judgments, our opinions, our expectations – and most importantly, our fears. What are we afraid of? Why do we fear anything? These are things that have to be addressed before we can fully embody and expand into our larger expressions of who we are.

Take a moment today to see where fear has snuck into your life and your choices. Are you holding yourself back because of a healthy sense of timing and patience or because you are frozen in your tracks for fear of regret, of letting go, or of discovering your own power?

It is ok. This is what we’re here for – to figure this out. Take a few deep breaths, find some time alone or someone who you trust and supports you, and let it out so you can let it go.

And don’t forget to have some fun – to remember that joy is a powerful destroyer of fear!

10/20/14: I recently posted this on the leomoonrising FB page:

At the time, I didn’t have it in mind specifically for this upcoming solar eclipse, but after posting it occurred to me how it is relevant to this energy we are already feeling and will be feeling even more strongly in the days to come. Things in our lives are bubbling to the surface, wanting and ready to be released.

On Thursday, 10/23, the Sun will move into Scorpio at 7:57am EDT, Venus will move into Scorpio at 4:52pm EDT, the Moon will move into Scorpio at 5:09pm EDT, and there will be a partial solar eclipse at 5:56pm EDT – all with Mercury in Libra still retrograde until 10/25. Oh yeah, and Saturn remains in Scorpio and will be at 22 degrees, though not as a part of the exact Sun/Moon/Venus conjunction at zero degrees Scorpio.

Look, you don’t have to know or care what I’m talking about when I use astrological terms or mention planets and their positions. It doesn’t have to mean shit to you. It’s simply a language, a way to communicate energy that I am crazy about and love passionately. Whatever. I hope what does translate is the energy itself and what that means to you – in your life – in a way that helps.

That’s it.

So hearing that the Sun, the Moon, and Venus will all be in the same degree – in fact, the very first degree – of the sign of Scorpio during a partial solar eclipse doesn’t have to blow your mind. But what I hope makes some impact is that we each are on a precipice of discovering our power – our place – in our lives right here, right now.

Anybody interested in doing that?

That power is not about how much we can puff out our chests, or pick up automobiles with one hand, or make other people do what we think we want them to. This intuitive, feminine power is in allowing – in letting ourselves settle into the quiet and cold watery depths within each of us. It’s being honest with ourselves about how we self-sabotage. It’s letting go, burning down, and taking to death the energy in our lives that holds us back – so that we can have room for something else.

But maybe most importantly, it’s taking that hard look at our whole selves and realizing we are perfect, and perfectly placed in life – not because where we are is necessarily where we will stay, but because every place we are gives us lesson upon lesson and opportunities to know ourselves and to grow.

And I don’t mean perfection in the way things look from the outside. I mean finding power in the full inner acceptance of who we are: feminine and masculine, ugly and pretty, weak and strong, chaotic and controlled, quiet and loud, receiving and giving, still and in motion, nurturing and selfish, apathetic and passionate, demoralized and proud, alone and in communion…the list goes on. And everywhere in between is important, too.

Our power lies in not trying to pretend any of those things don’t exist when they do, and in learning how they each are our strengths and gifts. The only real hurdles in life are fear, judgment, and expectation – the things we make up in our heads and then orchestrate our lives around. But those aren’t real things and they lead us into lives that aren’t real, either.

Real lives are based on love, compassion, and laughter – as much for yourself as everything else. Real lives are also built on our acceptance of and empowerment through change, even when it rips us apart. That is the strength the energy in Scorpio now offers to us – renewal, rebirth, transformation.

The point of all this astrological stuff? It messages to us our birthright.

Be here, right now, wholly you, with love, compassion, and a goddamn sense of humor – but no bullshit.

Nothing is stronger than that.

10/9/14: Today the Libra Sun remains opposite Uranus in Aries, whom the Moon is no longer conjunct. The Moon has moved along to Taurus to be opposite Mercury in Scorpio.

For the love of all that’s holy, make an effort not to be an asshole today.

The Taurus Moon and retrograde Mercury in Scorpio are both just so right that this might be difficult if they can’t find common ground. Both are powerful, fixed signs – the Bull and the Scorpion – deadly in different yet decidedly effective ways. It is a clash of emotion versus perfectionism, even a tribute to classic Venus versus Mars (the original ruling planet of Scorpio prior to Pluto’s discovery). This is a transient influence, so it probably will be about small issues – not the big ones – and won’t last more than a day or so, as Mercury drops back into the more diplomatic sign of Libra tomorrow, 10/10, at 1:26pm EDT.

But today, seeing eye-to-eye isn’t a likely outcome, though compromise still could be.

Remember that a difference in opinion is just that – while facts are facts, the sometimes widely varying ways two people feel about those facts can be equally valid.

So show some respect for perspective – mostly, the one you don’t have.

We will never know the inner workings of each other’s minds or the cumulative effects of a lifetime of experiences and their impact on anyone else. It isn’t possible. Each of us gets our own perspective and more than needing to always know why someone else feels the way they do is the simple fact that they have the right to feel that way.

Disagreement alone doesn’t make someone less intelligent…or less loving.

It is important to realize how each of us feels about an issue has more to do with the person feeling it than either the issue or anyone else involved. In other words, if something is bothering you, it is your problem first – not anyone else’s. Don’t rush to make it theirs.

Just like for every season, there is also a time to be right. Today, you’re likely to just seem like an asshole (see above for advice on that).

And that Mercury is retrograde will only compound misunderstandings if words fly before thoughts fully have their wings. Leave those babies in the nest.

This goes for all of us.

The Grand Trine Kite formation mentioned in the 10/8/2014 post below still holds, though with the changes mentioned in connection with the Moon. Keep at your goals and let go of anything petty that distracts you!

10/7/14: A few quick thoughts on this Aries Full Moon eclipse… If you are open to its energy, this event could have an iconoclastic impact on your life; it may be the catalyst that brings you fresh eyes of wonder after years of cynically gazing at life.

In the 10/3/14 post below, I gave an overview of the Aries/Libra axis that is currently highlighted – how these two energies are presently at work. But there’s more.

In addition to the opposition of the Aries Moon/Uranus conjunction to the Libra Sun/Venus/North Node conjunction is a Grand Trine Kite, involving Jupiter in Leo, Mars in Sagittarius, and the previously mentioned Moon/Uranus conjunction in Aries. The energy of a Kite brings us focus and intent between two opposing forces – in this one the Libra Sun/Aries Full Moon opposition puts our hearts and minds at odds and challenges us to balance what we feel with what we think or rationalize. And the Grand Trine involved is in Fire, burning into us our desires and burning away from us anything less.

The deck is stacked in favor of passion, of creating, of following your heart.

The presence of the North Node in the mix (conjunct the Sun) is a reminder that we are on our path of destiny, we are walking with our karma.

What have you been working on lately? Emotionally, mentally, spiritually? It’s about to ignite.

The warning light comes on with the T-square between the planets on the Aries/Libra axis and Pluto in Capricorn. You don’t get somethin’ for nothin’. So what are you going to give up to move forward? What structure in your life will be changing? Your ego, your pride, your resistance to compromise? Your need to please others, your indecisiveness, your resistance to being uncomfortable?

Pluto in Capricorn says something’s got to give, something needs a new structure – and is backed by its mirror image with Saturn in Scorpio.

Saturn in Scorpio is square Jupiter in Leo, warning us further to know the desires in the depths of our hearts, our souls. No pageant answers will do; I’m guessing we’d all love world peace, but right now we’re each working on our own inner peace.

Absorb the energy this Full Moon is bringing to you, along with what this eclipse will bring – an honest look at the dark and the light in your life, your choices, and your goals.

You know that thing you really want, deep down? It’s going to take hard work, compromise, determination, and change. But if that’s the truth of where your heart is taking you, follow it.

Go get it.

Surrender to your heart to know the power of your mind.

10/3/14: Starting tomorrow at 1:02pm EDT, Mercury will be retrograde for three weeks until 10/25. Currently Mercury is in Scorpio, but will slide back into Libra on 10/10 and not return to Scorpio until 11/10. All of the typical MercuryRx issues will arise – offering a multitude of chances for re-doing, re-membering, re-placing, re-envisioning, re-vising, etc, etc. It’s the verbally agile, communicative Mercury’s chance to go back, fact check, dot i’s, and cross t’s. Oh, yeah – and meditate. We all love to do that, right?

During this retrograde period we are all going to experience some pretty intense stuff, though, with a Full Moon lunar eclipse in Aries on 10/8 and a solar eclipse in Scorpio on 10/23. And later in the day on 10/23, Venus will join the Sun in Scorpio. But first, about this Aries Full Moon eclipse…

It will be what’s called a “Blood Moon” because, as you might have guessed, the Moon will appear red. Set your clocks to check it out (if you’re not already up) around 6:50am next Wednesday.

Between April 2014 and September 2015, there are FOUR lunar eclipses between Aries and Libra (a tetrad). We’re about to have the second one. Any connection between Aries and Libra energies will be in some way about balancing yourself in harmony with others (especially your primary relationship/s and partnership/s) and with asserting your autonomy and independence as an individual in this life. Check out the chart on the right (from my favorite astrology site, astro.com) of how this will affect you house-wise if you’re in Charlotte, NC. Not only are you dealing with the Aries/Libra axis, but it is between the first and seventh houses. Aries rules the first house and Libra rules the seventh, and even though the wheel is flipped (Libra in first house, Aries in seventh) on that date and time, the energies will still be extra-emphasized.

Don’t be too surprised by sudden and unexpected changes to your relationship status, like a spontaneous proposal or a break up you didn’t see coming. Things happen, yo.

At the Full Moon eclipse, the Moon will be almost exactly conjunct Uranus, who has been in Aries a while. Uranus and Aries both bring the energy of someone not afraid to be themselves, to pave a new path, to have their own voice and identity. With the Moon adding an emotional component to the mix, there may be a lot of “Sorry I’m not sorry”, “Whatever”, “Deal with it”, and “Next!” going around next week.

A challenge we will face is how to handle those feelings surfacing whilst maintaining our dedication to fairness for ourselves, those we love, and the bonds that tie us. The Sun conjunct Venus in Libra will keep our egos and identities fighting for the survival of beauty, harmony, and justice in how we see the world. So whether you’re the dumper, dumpee, proposer, or proposee ( ) – your ultimate goal is balancing what you want in your life with who you’re going to spend it with.

And more esoterically, that doesn’t have to involve anyone else. Maybe this dynamic, for you, has nothing to do with another person but rather is kept within YOU. How fair are you to yourself? How passionate are you about new partnerships with your personal goals? You may find this eclipse uncovers your true calling – the one you’ve been putting off to appease your fears.

Maybe you’ll discover the truth of fairness to yourself is taking a risk, making an emboldened move towards joining with yourself in a firmer, more committed way. Combined with the elevated personal power that will be coming with the Scorpio solar eclipse on 10/23, it could be a beautiful beginning of the rest of your life…

Here’s a link to space.com for a video and article on the science of this event.

9/22/14: Tonight is the Autumn Equinox when the Sun will move from Virgo into Libra at 10:29pm EDT. It is the change from Summer to Fall, from longer days of sunlight to shorter ones, when there is briefly an almost equal division between day and night.

This is a yin-yang moment – a chance to rebalance – to shift back into the dark Winter of ourselves from the open freedom of Summer. We can now reap our harvests and gather our grains to last us through the barren Winter. What does that mean, and more importantly, what does it mean to you?

What have you been growing in your life that it’s time to cull? It can be an idea you’re ready to let go, a project you’re ready to conclude, a relationship from which you’re ready to ask more, a loss its time to properly mourn, a reaping of what you have left to gather as you leave what won’t nourish you behind in the fields to feed the Earth.

Coinciding with this energy of Fall are the last hours of the waning Virgo Moon, which will be a New Moon in Libra at 2:13am EDT on 9/24. As always in the days leading up to New Moons, it is a time to let go of the last of this past cycle, to find the quiet space within, to meditate, to release (maybe even through laughter/ie, post below), to clear our inner ground for the next cycle of energetic planting and growth.

The cycle of the Moon provides us thirteen chances per year to play out the larger cycle of life intuitively through our emotions. We get a lot of “do overs” and chances to try again to get things right – we’re pretty lucky. And as with any feminine aspect, the Moon and her offerings of renewal deserve our respect, protection, and love. She reflects within each of us our own resilience and connection to the ebbs and flows of life, the power in surrender and vulnerability, the essence of timing, and our ability to change while honoring each step along the way.

Libra is the zodiac sign of harmony and balance, of the primary relationships in our lives, of justice, of beauty, and of the critic’s eye. It’s time to turn up that airy, masculine, cardinal energy in your own life, to honor the Libra influences in your own patterns. What can you finally see for what it is? What fairness have you been denying yourself or someone else that its time to pay? The sign of the scales is calling for alignment, for balance, for justice – and, of course, this begins within each of us first.

9/20/14: With the Moon and Jupiter conjunct in solar-plexus-centered, fiery Leo today, we have the opportunity to feel pretty darn good about life and light of heart. With both bodies also trine quirky Uranus in fiery, go-getter Aries, we are hopefully delighting at the unexpected rather than being disappointed or upset by it. But that all depends on our sense of humor…

There’re always chances to take things too seriously – to find the somber meanings – to allow things to get us down. No need for that today, though. With the bigger picture that Leo can inspire, with the focus on fun, creativity, children (either being with them or acting like them), enjoying the colors in life, and realizing it’s all a big and often dramatic performance – how about we light it up with some inspired Fire?

I have a beautiful, wonderful, strong friend who recently became a certified Laugh Yoga instructor. We had dinner and talked at length about what that means, exactly, and what the training entailed. Basically, you can fake it til you make it if you really want to; all the things that piss you off or get you down, laugh your bitter laugh until it’s the real thing. If you really want to stay mad, then don’t try this. The thin line between love and hate is the same one between sorrow and joy, between laughing and crying.

I had a personal experience with this over the summer. The week before July 4th I came down with strep throat (according to my doctor, it was a common malady this summer). I used to get it a lot as a kid, and as an adult, it was NO FUN. My doctor put me on amoxicillin because, well, that’s what you take. Although I haven’t ever reacted to penicillin before, two days in I was having an allergic reaction. With my history of a generally sensitive constitution, I of course could not have a “normal” reaction – instead of breathing difficulty, my anaphylactic response was in my brain and nervous system.

Suffice it to say, I got super high on antibiotics. Who knew that could happen??

So as my friend, who happens to be an ER nurse, drove me to Urgent Care I could not stop alternating between laughing hysterically and sobbing. And this was the ugly cry, people, just like Oprah talked about. It freaked out everyone around me – my friend, my kids, her kids – because I am generally pretty together, and at that time I was quite undone.

And I felt fantastic.

It was so cathartic and releasing – probably because I almost never cry and it was just a bunch of pent up LIFE, but I remember being so relaxed that I just gave into it and let it run it’s course. I kept cracking myself up every time I switched to crying because it was just so fucking funny. Me? Sobbing? That was just weird. Then I especially laughed as the nurses took blood and urine samples, convinced I was on something else. Nope, no “mommy’s helper” here – just a freak allergic response.

Anyway, the point is that even though it was unexpectedly medically induced, I had the opportunity to cross back and forth over that laughing/crying line, and it was amazing. Makes me want to stock some amoxicillin… Just kidding, I realize it could have been a lot more serious!

How long has it been since you laughed til you cried – or the other way around? What a release and a relief to connect them and even more so to realize you had that power all along. According to the training my friend recently underwent, all it takes is a little intention and practice to make it happen. Even if your laugh is bitter, sardonic, or fake at first, if your true intention is to find the funny – to lighten your life – then keep at it til it’s real. It may take time and it may not be for everyone, but the phrase “laughter is the best medicine” didn’t come from nowhere…

Because in the end, if it all really was just one big performance, would you have chosen a comedy or a tragedy? Maybe a little of both?

9/15/14: All of the psychically charged energy of the recent Pisces Full Moon (post below) is continuing its effect in this waning period…and now Mars has moved into Sagittarius just to stir things up even more as he bounces energy off of Pluto still retrograde in Capricorn.

Classic push-and-pull forces at work – Mars in Sagittarius encourages us to conquer the world in leaps and bounds and expand like hydrogen gas meeting a spark. But Pluto in Capricorn, slow and steady already, is putting the brakes on for a few more days by hanging on to its retrograde status until 8:35pm EDT on 9/22, just shy of the Sun moving into Libra at 10:29pm EDT that same evening.

The tension mentioned above between Mars and Pluto that we just experienced was amplified by a semi-square that occurred late last week right before Mars left Scorpio. A metaphor would be that it’s as if you were penned in your starting gate atop your horse, planning how you were going to make your play – your run for it – feeling the same energy from the other riders in the gates around you, your anticipation for the gun to go off building and building and building, the horse beneath you stomping and pawing the ground with hooves as it feels the crescendo of your readiness, your excitement, your

BANG!

Whoops – sorry folks, false alarm. Gun misfired.

Seriously, though – this time for real - on your mark…

You can’t help but feel the flush of adrenaline already surging through your veins, but you still have to wait for the real signal. And that’s what Pluto in Capricorn going direct on 9/22 will start to bring you, and will continue to bring you until Mars and Pluto are conjunct in Capricorn on 11/10.

Until then, manage your anger; don’t direct it ignorantly or unjustly onto those around you. Karma plays that rubber-glue game, so watch what you throw into the universe. Let go of disappointment because your time is coming. Realize those ducks are lining up, even if that’s happening behind the scenes for now; they’ll come out quacking soon enough and you’ll realize your impatience was simply a sign of your readiness to be in this life, on this path. And that’s a good thing.

Just don’t be a jerk until then. Instead, enjoy the brighter side of fiery Mars traveling through fiery, mutable Sagittarius – the fun side: go hiking, travel, take a class or course you’ve been wanting to, read profusely, make some new friends or hang out with your old ones, laugh at yourself more. This aspect invites adventure, exploring new ground, expanding your mind and education, and taking the stress in your life a lot less seriously, if only for a little while.

9/9/14: Pisces Full Moon last night – it was a beauty. But it was also a beast…and still kind of is. The effects of a Full Moon can last about three days surrounding it, so I don’t know about you, but I’m still reeling in it today. Water, water, everywhere. It’s your deep blue sea.

Water represents our emotions. Water is feminine, receptive, yin, and very intuitive. Water is also very, very controlling and (I personally believe) the most powerful of the elements here on Earth. And, therefore, requires respect, honoring, awareness, and responsibility.

With this Pisces Full Moon that just passed through the center of Neptune (ruler of Pisces, representing mysticism, karma, and connection to spirit) and Chiron (the centaur and wounded healer), it dragged along with it the gossamer trails of the remnants of our pasts – the karma it’s time to release – the God within you whom you’ve been avoiding. This is your “come to Jesus”, whatever that means to you. Your spirit within is calling, and it’s time to listen. Notice I didn’t say “answer.” We talk too much.

Just listen.

We’re now on the downslope with the Moon sliding through its waning cycle, first into the Fire of Aries starting tonight at 7:33pm EDT.

Burn off the bullshit. What illusions have you been nurturing? Throw them on your pyre tonight.

You don’t have to talk about it, you don’t have to share it with anyone else. Karma is between you and yourself. As the waning cycle progresses over the next two weeks through Taurus to Gemini to Cancer to Leo to Virgo to the New Moon in Libra on 9/24, Just Let Go. Let go of your attachments to possessions, let go of your need to be heard, let go of your need to control and over-nurture, let go of your need to feed your ego, let go of your need for perfection, and finally, let go of your need to present the face to the world that is anything other than your authentic self.

Your authentic self is all you, or anyone else, will ever need.

9/5/14: Have been reading The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran and found some interesting correlations to the current astrological influences. Here are a few excerpts from an edition published by Alfred A. Knofp that seem to me to describe the specific energy in the air, the necessity of balance in life, and the oneness of us all…

On Mercury in Libra:

Then a lawyer said, But what of our Laws, master? And he answered: You delight in laying down laws, Yet you delight more in breaking them. Like children playing by the ocean who build sand-towers with constancy and then destroy them with laughter. But while you build your sand-towers the ocean brings more sand to the shore, And when you destroy them the ocean laughs with you. Verily the ocean laughs always with the innocent.

But what of those to whom life is not an ocean, and man-made laws are not sand-towers, But to whom life is a rock, and the law and chisel with which they would carve it in their own likeness? What of the cripple who hates dancers? What of the ox who loves his yoke and deems the elk and deer of the forest stray and vagrant things? What of the old serpent who cannot shed his skin, and calls all others naked and shameless? And of him who comes early to the wedding-feast, and when over-fed and tired goes his way saying that all feasts are a violation and all feasters law-breakers?

What shall I say of these save that they too stand in the sunlight but with their backs to the sun? They see only their shadows, and their shadows are their laws. And what is the sun to them but a caster of shadows? And what is it to acknowledge the laws but to stoop down and trace their shadows upon the earth? But you who walk facing the sun, what images drawn on the earth can hold you? You who travel with the wind, what weather-vane shall direct your course? What man’s law shall bind you if you break your yoke but upon no man’s prison door? What laws shall you fear if you dance but stumble against no man’s iron chains? And who is he that shall bring you to judgment if you tear off your garment yet leave it in no man’s path?

People of Orphalese, you can muffle the drum, and you can loosen the strings of the lyre, but who shall command the skylark not to sing?

On Saturn and Mars conjunct:

And the priestess spoke again and said: Speak to us of Reason and Passion. And he answered, saying: Your soul is oftentimes a battlefield, upon which your reason and your judgment wage war against your passion and your appetite. Would that I could be the peacemaker in your soul, that I might turn the discord and the rivalry of your elements into oneness and melody. But how shall I, unless you yourselves be also the peacemakers, nay, the lovers of all your elements?

Your reason and your passion are the rudder and the sails of your seafaring soul. If either your sails or your rudder be broken, you can but toss and drift, or else be held at a standstill in mid-seas. For reason, ruling alone, is a force confining; and passion, unattended, is a flame that burns to its own destruction. Therefore let your soul exalt your reason to the height of passion, that it may sing; And let it direct your passion with reason, that your passion may live through its own daily resurrection, and like the phoenix rise above its own ashes.

I would have you consider your judgement and your appetite even as you would two loved guests in your house. Surely you would not honour one guest above the other; for he who is more mindful of one loses the love and the faith of both.

Among the hills, when you sit in the cool shade of the white poplars, sharing the peace and serenity of distant fields and meadows – then let your heart say in silence, “God rests in reason.” And when the storm comes, and the might wing shakes the forest, and thunder and lightning proclaim the majesty of the sky – then let your heart say in awe, “God moves in passion.” And since you are a breath in God’s sphere, and a leaf in God’s forest, you too should rest in reason and move in passion.

9/2/14: The heavens are busy today. We have a Fire Grand Trine connecting the First Quarter Moon in Sagittarius with Uranus in Aries and Jupiter in Leo lighting up our creativity, our initiative to get going in our lives, and emotional release from our pasts. And, we have a T-square with the Sun in Virgo opposite the Neptune/Chiron conjunction in Pisces, all square the Moon in Sagittarius reminding us that staying healthy takes time, focus, and applying ourselves.

Venus in Leo is square Saturn/Mars conjunct in Scorpio, reminding us not to get too crazy spending money (especially other people’s) or overindulging in food and drink, and Mercury just moved into Libra to bring us critical thinking, justice, an ability to express our love of beauty, and social discernment for the next three and a half weeks.

Basically, true to the pervading Virgo energy, it’s time to pay attention to the details. When a Virgo’s attention is on something, s/he will focus like nothing else exists; Virgos are devoted and hard workers (some call it OCD, but whatever – it works!), often in the service of others, and are only happy when their result is perfection. We’re all absorbing these solar rays right now and they apply to varying degrees in each of our lives. Adding to the Sun is the Moon, which will be Full in Pisces on Monday, 9/8, at 9:38pm EDT. A Pisces Full Moon is an excellent time to meditate, to reconnect intuitively to that oneness that connects us all, to realize every single thing we do is a choice that either pulls us closer to knowing or pushes us farther from truth.

No pressure.

We put the puzzles of our lives together one piece at a time, and there is great beauty in those details if we remember to notice. For the finished result to be complete, each and every piece matters, and each and every piece either fits where we try to put it…or doesn’t. Try another spot – there’s a beautiful big picture waiting to be seen.

8/27/14: We’re a few days past the New Moon in Virgo – the Moon will shift into Libra this evening at 5:54pm EDT. This was an intense New Moon with the Sun also in Virgo and a Mars/Saturn conjunction in Scorpio square a Jupiter/Venus conjunction in Leo. Remember, the New Moon is seed time, when we plant our visions and wishes for this next lunar cycle, hoping for manifestation at the Full Moon in a couple of weeks. With Virgo, planting energy is turned up significantly. Virgo is the sign of the Earth Mother, of the fertile hopes for a new future.

In Greek mythology, Demeter represents Virgo (Ceres in Roman mythology). She rules the harvest, grains, fertility, and separating the wheat from the chaff. Virgo energy often resonates on the details in life, on minutia and getting all of your ducks in a row. Mercury-ruled, earthy, mutable Virgos are often accountants, engineers, and health fanatics.

An important aspect of Demeter’s myth is highlighted in the sky right now: Demeter had a daughter, Persephone, with Zeus (Jupiter), who was so beautiful that Hades (Pluto) stole her away to the Underworld to have for himself. This left Demeter in severe grief, anguish, and anger that resulted in the Earth’s suffering; nothing would grow, all the crops died, and people were starving. To save the humans, Zeus sent Mercury (the only god who could travel between all three worlds: Olympus, Earth, and the Underworld) down to bring back Persephone, but Hades first tricked her into eating a magic pomegranate that would keep her with him. Not being able to break the curse, Zeus decreed that Persephone would remain in the Underworld for part of the year (some versions say three months, some six months) and return to her mother for the remainder. This is what established the seasons, for when Persephone must return to her role as Queen of the Underworld and Hades’s wife, Demeter mourns her and the Earth is barren, aka, winter.

In the sky at the New Moon was a square, or tension – a learning opportunity, between Jupiter in Leo (softened with the conjunction to Venus) and Pluto in Scorpio (hardened with the conjunction to Mars).

In other words, Zeus and Hades are making another deal.

Zeus is motivated by peace, Hades by passion, Demeter by love.

In your life, where does this apply? For what new beginning are you planting seeds? For what, in the dark of the Moon, are you wishing? Peace? Possession? Love? Maybe for all three to be balanced within you.

You can have what you want, but first you have to figure out what that is – and what it isn’t. Separate the wheat from the chaff – what nourishes you and what doesn’t – in your own life. Meditate on compromise and accepting boundaries. Cultivate patience. Realize that when you withhold your love, the whole world suffers. To what part of your life can your inner Persephone return?

I would be remiss if I didn’t complete the tale of Persephone…she has as much a role – if not more of a role – than any of the characters, though it’s often overlooked.

Some thoughts are that she found an element of herself with Hades in the Underworld that completes her, and that she willingly ate the magic pomegranate (the red pill), that she found a connection to her inner power and strength that she wouldn’t have encountered in her life on Earth with her mother. She is often depicted as owning her role as Queen of the Underworld while she’s there.

Maybe she was motivated by power – finding it within herself. We all have times in our lives that we’re taken to our proverbial Underworlds, and often we even take ourselves there on purpose (consciously or not) or find ways to stay once we’re there. These are the times we’re searching for our inner strength or transformation. We use opposition, adversity, and struggle to find our power, to kill off a past that no longer suits us so we can move into a redefined future.

Is that what this New Moon is bringing you, the urge to let go of a mothering – or smothering – element in your life? Maybe you are in the Underworld right now because you are searching for your power, reconnecting with the depths of yourself so that you can later return to the surface transformed and share bounty with the Earth in a new spring.

For everything, there is a season.

8/20/14: Today is a good day to be lion-hearted.

The Sun is shining in the last few days of Leo and is sextile the Moon in Cancer. Leo’s chakra is the golden solar plexus and Cancer’s is the green and rose-pink heart. This combination bolsters our abilities to make heart-centered choices that serve to make us stronger as individuals, and help us bring our unique creative talents into the world.

What are you here to manifest?

With hard squares between the Venus/Jupiter conjunction in Leo to the Mars/Saturn conjunction in Scorpio, we need this strength of heart. Fiery Leo and watery Scorpio are both powerful fixed signs and although they can go together very well, the energy of these squares gives us a tension through which to work and from which to learn. When our urges to over-indulge, to be romantic when we should be realistic, or to view the world through glasses that are too rosey rise up – we’re likely going to be checked with reminders from the universe that our bodies should be our temples and what we do to them has lasting health consequences, that romance is just another lie unless it’s based on something real, and that seeing things like they actually are is the necessary first step to eventually getting what we truly want. Damn. I’ll just slip this in here…

Gratitude – we’re lucky to get this balance in the stars today! Look around, appreciate the real blessings in your life, including your ever-present potential to keep creating them. And as the Moon wanes from now to the Virgo New Moon on 8/25, shed what you no longer need, meditate on letting go of material trappings that distract you from focusing your power on what love in your life really is – on true loyalty (including to yourself), on family (of all kinds), and perhaps most importantly the secret to life…laughter.

8/10/14: Eyes to the sky, Moon watchers – today at 2:10pm EDT is the full Supermoon, one of three this year (the other two are in July and September) and this month’s is also the brightest of the year. The Moon will be at what’s called its perigree (the point at which the Moon is closest to Earth on its elliptical orbit) and will appear up to 14% bigger and 30% brighter than normal.

Makes me think of this:

Love that movie.

So when it gets dark enough tonight to see it, don’t forget to look up!

Adding to the show will be the annual Perseid meteor shower over the next few days. You will have a better chance of seeing them if you can escape city lights. If you’ve ever wanted to wish upon a shooting star, here’s a chance.

Astrologically, Leo energy is still flaming up our solar system with the Sun and Mercury conjunct and Jupiter not far behind. The Sun/Mercury conjunction is opposite the Full Moon in Aquarius. The Moon, the yin/receptive/feminine, reflects the solar energy of the Sun, the yang/active/masculine, and adds her own mothering/emotional energy to it before shining down on all of us. The astrological signs are always opposite when the Moon is full, balancing the zodiac wheel when our two main influences from space connect most intensely. The Leo Sun/Aquarius Moon balance brings our attention to what is good for one (ego-driven) and what is good for all (humanitarian-driven) to light.

What actions are we taking (Sun/masculine) to assert what we want? How are we expressing leadership in our lives? How are we connecting with our family? And, are we having fun doing it?

What are our emotions, feelings, and intuitions (Moon/feminine) around helping others? Are we nurturing society at large with our personal choices? Is it time to share ideas and inventions that can propel us all forward?

Remember, with Mars and Saturn conjunct in Scorpio, take time to let things work slowly. Saturn, the boundary setter, puts the brakes on Mars, the action planet, and Scorpio takes everything to the deepest levels of power, control, sex, death, and jointly held finances. It’s not the time to rush; check yourself before you wreck yourself.

So have fun with the Supermoon, shooting stars, and abundance in Leo – but remember there are other, powerful energies at work. Respect your intuition when you know it’s time to back down, set your boundaries, and dig deeply into that reserve of power within you. That power is love and compassion, for yourself and others. And then, like a shooting star, you’ll have all your strength behind you for the next time you ignite and bring a little hope to us all that dreams come true.

8/5/14: The Pluto in Capricorn-Jupiter in Cancer opposition has been over a little while now, and Jupiter has since moved into Leo the Lion’s den. This should offer us some relief in that age-old tug of war between our work obligations and home responsibilities. However you stepped off of this seesaw – whether deftly onto your feet or falling flat on your face – at least that ride is done for now. Jupiter in Leo calls us back to our thrones and to being a leader for ourselves – to where we want our lives to go. Trick is, the best leaders are the ones who don’t let ego get in the way and make decisions that benefit everyone as much as possible. That can be really difficult to figure out, what with everyone having opinions and all. The best place to look for guidance isn’t in what strokes our manes or fills our coffers, but what a higher part of ourselves is telling us…there it is again, that whole “listen to your intuition” reminder. It really does work.

How can you be your best self in your life? Where is your greatest creative expression? Where do you want it to be?

Who in your life supports you in that?

A huge aspect of Leo’s lion energy is family. Not in the reciprocally nurturing way of Cancer, but in the it’s-time-to-have-fun, creative, spontaneous, dancing, loving, and playful way of Leo. Not only is Jupiter currently there, but he’s joined by the Sun (ego, self-identity), Mercury (communications, travel), and soon Venus (sensual enjoyment, money) on 8/12 at 3:23am EDT. Once Venus joins the party there are only a couple of days until Mercury heads on into Virgo on 8/15 at 12:43pm EDT. That sounds like a recipe to live it up next week between 8/12 and 8/15, which may work out for you if you keep in consideration that the Mars and Saturn conjunction in Scorpio will be squaring those same planets then, as well.

Mars and Saturn will add intensity, hold boundaries, and reveal hidden truths, so be careful how far you try to take things. If you’ve ever watched the National Geographic channel, you know that lions spend a great deal of their time sleeping and lounging around. The family aspect of Leo could mean that if you’re getting together with your clan, things may go really well and bring you closer or go really ba-…well, offer a lot of opportunities to learn. Take on the chill aspects of this sign and enjoy downtime together, only hunting when you have to make a kill.

Today the waxing Moon is in Sagittarius; you may feel like it’s a good day to expand your emotional horizons. If you are holding back on how you feel, it would be no big surprise for things to come bursting out of you unexpectedly like fire shooting up from a volcano. Just sayin’…it happens with this combination of energy: Sun and Mercury in fiery Leo, Moon in fiery Sagittarius, Mars in intense Scorpio, and Uranus in fiery Aries. Watch. Your. Temper. I’ve already lost mine… :/ Good thing Neptune and Chiron are still in healing mode in Pisces.

If you manage to redirect this energy positively, it should be a banner day creatively and sexually. The energy in the air today is perfect for sparks to fly and fires to be stoked. We all have kindling in our lives, and it’s up to us what we light. Maybe today, we light up love.

7/21/14: Saturn and Uranus are in the middle of a do-si-do in the sky with Saturn in Scorpio going direct yesterday at 4:35pm EDT and Uranus in Aries going retrograde tonight at 10:53pm EDT (until 12/21/14, the day of the Winter Solstice). Bringing the music to this dance towards darkness at 12:35pm EDT today is the waning Moon in Gemini, which will reach Balsamic phase at 5:32pm EDT tomorrow, 7/22. Complementarily, the music and dancing-loving Sun moves into its home-base sign of Leo tomorrow at 5:41pm EDT, where it’s at its brightest, fiery best. It will partner up with Jupiter in Leo, which happened on 7/16 at 6:30am EDT, who has already started the party – as Jupiter is wont to do! The gist of this solar shift is from home-centered nurturing, all things motherly, and internal emotions to shining brightly on stage, leading with flare, and taking pride in yourself through fun and spontaneous action – games, sports, bedroom fun. A shift from internal analysis to external rulership.

The New Moon in Leo will be Saturday, 7/26, at 6:41pm EDT. All of this is creating quite the energetic yin-yang in the sky.

Saturn back on track in Scorpio is an active return to setting powerful boundaries in your life, particularly concerning shared finances, shared resources, sex, death, and politics. Maybe on a collective level some legislation will pass that will help heal the current mishaps that somehow seemed to make their way through our legal system (Hobby Lobby Bill…).

Aries-lit Uranus is stepping backwards today while locked in a T-square with Pluto in Capricorn and Mercury in Cancer (conjunct Venus in Cancer); communications are challenging today. Are you having a difficult time getting your way – or just getting out of the way? Alone time may be in short supply as interruption after interruption is colored with a power struggle of “who’s the boss?” and pressing responsibilities to those around you. At least that’s how it feels in my house today.

Also with Uranus retrograde, serendipity may be more obscure and coy than the last few months. What you think is the way to go at first may in actuality not be your path; try to find the patience to wait long enough for a second opinion, chance, or opportunity – the second one might be much better.

Adding to the hoedown, Mars will finally leave Libra and head into Scorpio this Friday at 10:24pm EDT just before the above mentioned Leo New Moon on Saturday. Finally. Mars needs some of his natural intensity back, and Scorpio has it in spades. Rev your engines and enjoy the reboot of your initiative and drive into a dynamic flow – you’ve already weighed the pros and cons, you’ve considered everyone’s opinion, you’ve done your best to fairly balance the desires of those around you. It’s time to take that knowledge and Get. What. You. Want.

Don’t forget about Karma, but also don’t forget it’s your life you’re living. This shift gives us the energy to stand our ground where we need to, and to call forth our individual and collective power for a higher purpose. Like all energy, we either use it or lose it, so have fun while you’re here and still have it!

6/21/14: Today is the Summer Solstice – the longest day of light in the year!

The Solstice also marks the move of the Sun into Cancer, which was at 6:51am EDT. It is traditionally a day for all Sun worshippers to have at it – raise your arms and smiles, spend the day outside soaking up the rays, or maybe just linger like the Sun this evening as you enjoy time to consider how amazing it is that we’re on this big spinning ball of rock and water, floating through space, circling an even bigger ball of burning gas, and that this is the day we get to see it the longest. You’d think with nowhere to go, no neighbors moving in, and nothing but time we humans could figure out how to get along and make this Earth a real paradise…

If you’d like to read more about the science of the Solstice, check out this article; to read more about how people around the world celebrate, try this one.

The Moon (Cancer’s ruler) is in Aries today until she moves into Taurus at 11:03pm EDT tonight. Both cardinal signs, watery Cancer and fiery Aries get along swimmingly. It is a good day for ego and emotions to align. With the right combination, these two elements can create a steamy afternoon.

Mercury (still retrograde until 7/1) moved into Gemini at 6:04am EDT on 6/17 but will return to Cancer on 7/13 once it’s moving forward again. Mercury is briefly conjunct the Sun, although they’re moving in different directions until this retrograde period ends. This combination of Cancer Sun and Gemini Mercury gives us ways to communicate our feelings, to reach out and nurture ourselves and others. Cancer connects us to our subconscious, our inner psyches, and the Sun (representing ego) shines its light in there so we can see and face what’s been going on inside. Talky Mercury in Gemini helps us express; may be time to reach for that journal again. Any interesting dreams lately? Mine have been out there.

Venus moves into Gemini on Monday, 6/23, at 8:33am EDT where she’ll spend almost a month until 7/18 when she’ll join Mercury in Cancer. She will just miss Jupiter in Cancer, though, as he will be moving into Leo two days before at 6:30am EDT on 7/16, where he’ll spend just over a year.

Jupiter in Leo is BIG. The lion will roar as the king of the sky walks in, thunderbolts in hand. Wherever in your personal chart Jupiter in Leo lines up, expect expansion and growth and a massive uptick in activity. When your thirsts for knowledge and rulership (Jupiter) tame the lion of your ego (Leo) you will shine in that area of your life. Not without hard work, of course. Put your attention and intention where you want your life to go, and open up intuitively to let this vital energy from the sky carry you towards whatever that is.

6/12/14: Ooooh…Friday the 13th FULL MOON very early tomorrow!! 12:11am EDT, stay up to see it!

It is the Strawberry Moon AND the Honey Moon, the former named by the Algonquin Indians of North America for harvest time and the latter named for the Moon’s honey-colored appearance, often associated with wedding celebrations that involved drinking mead (beer made from honey) and because honeycombs were full for harvesting this time of year, as well.

Apparently, this is pretty rare. The last June Friday the 13th Full Moon was in 1919, and the next won’t be until 2098, according to this site.

To top off the energy and add a healthy dose of cray, the Moon is now in Sagittarius and will be through its peak of fullness. Sagittarius is ruled by expansive, truth-and-justice-seeking Jupiter, also bringing luck and desire for higher learning and expansion in philosophical thinking. Jupiter energy wants everything to be bigger, better, and a lot more fun. It is independent and has a touch of madness but still is jovial and social. Jupiter is the Roman god identified with the Greek god, Zeus.

Use the solar energy of Sun in Gemini’s curiosity with the lunar energy of Moon in Sagittarius’s passion to learn something new in the next few days. Do you want to go back to school, learn a new skill, ask the deeper questions at church, or break out of your safe zone and travel? Do it! Or at least begin the research and preparations. The writing on the wall for today is dream, follow your inspiration into your future.

Happy Friday the 13th Full Moon!

(I have an affinity for Friday the 13th – I always considered 13 a lucky number, and learned recently that I was conceived on a Friday the 13th. Bow chicka wow wow – guess that explains it! )

6/6/14: Beautiful Water Grand Trine in the sky tonight: Saturn in Scorpio, Jupiter in Cancer, and Chiron in Pisces. Extending from that GT is a Kite with its culminating point at Pluto in Capricorn. As lovely as that combination is and all the opportunities it brings us for establishing healthy, proper emotional boundaries in our lives…Mercury is about to go retrograde. Like, tomorrow. 7:56am EDT. But you’re probably already feeling it today. I am a strong advocate that energy is what we make of it, so Mercury in retrograde is yet another chance we have to honor the moment and flow with the current.

The first half of this Mercury retrograde is in Cancer. It is totally fine if you want to stay home and re-arrange your photo albums, clothes, or furniture. Cook. Sleep. Call your mother. Communicate through your emotions and through both your self-nurturing and nurturing of others. And don’t be put off if someone misreads your intentions. For the love of everything, it is ok. This is going to be a great summer, so rest up and get your ducks in a row before they swim off into the warm July and August sunsets. Mercury retrograde is notorious for missed communication and miscommunication, so pad your thoughts with that before jumping to any conclusions. Just enjoy the downtime when you need it.

The First Quarter Moon shifts to discerning Libra tonight at 10:00pm EDT. A FQ Moon is about physical expression – your first moves of action into whatever you are manifesting this cycle. What do you want balanced in your life? Work/home? Relationship/independence? Power/emotional expression? Physical health/physical enjoyment? Think of the action you’ve been delaying, been stewing over; it may be time to do something now to bring that balance back towards you – to draw it to you by engaging in the very energy of it.

Salud

5/28/14: Planets and stars have shifted above us and things are a little wonky right now. That’s the official astrology term of the day: wonky. We have emerged from the Grand Cross with Jupiter in Cancer no longer square Mars in Libra. The other squares and oppositions that made up the GC still hold, but with even one piece of the structure missing, it is gone. To me, it kind of feels like a leg has been kicked out from a chair that’s now in a slow-motion fall. It had been refreshingly stabilizing. With all the lessons of it and the long Water Grand Trines from last summer, though, we have the benefit of all we learned in the past year to make a mindful transition now as we move ever onward. Among other things, we learned the power of our emotions and how they will rule us if we let them, and we learned patience and how to set personal boundaries and lifetime goals that work together, and we learned that truth and fairness are karmic pillars. At least, hopefully, we learned some of that.

The Sun and New Moon were exactly conjunct today at 7 degrees Gemini. The dark of the Moon passed at 12:47am EDT early this morning. Time to visualize what you want this next cycle to bring. Do you have an overwhelming urge to laugh, cry, sing, scream, yell, run away, or generally get the crazy out? Gemini wants to communicate, to be that live wire antenna that transmits for everything divine – and that’s a lot to hold in. So don’t try too hard to keep things under wrap or the dam will crack and leak in places you weren’t planning on having to plug. Use the Sun/Moon conjunction’s strong trine with Mars to proactively channel the divine that comes through you into the world. Write, talk, paint, sing, dance, teach, learn, turn up the music, exercise, get outdoors – just do something until you feel better.

We are energy. Honor what’s coming through you and bring it into material fruition without (and here’s the tricky part) judging yourself or anyone else for how you do it. Remember, you are meant to do this. How will you ever get to know your true self if you keep telling it that it isn’t what you were looking for?

Venus moves into home-base Taurus at 9:45pm EDT tonight, so expect some sensual delights to come your way, if you choose to accept them. Enjoy your food, enjoy sleep, enjoy your body and all the ways it connects with the tangible world.

Mercury moves into Cancer tomorrow at 5:11am EDT, where it will be joined by the Moon on Friday morning at 10:13am EDT and they’ll share that sign until Sunday night. Mercury here is intuitive and maternal (especially once the Moon joins in as Cancer is her home base), but has to be careful of hogging the conversation with “poor me” rhetoric. Mercury in Cancer needs to be nurtured and listened to equally as much as it will lend its caring, counseling ear – but it’s important to read the room on this. You may find time alone is the best company. Mercury in Cancer (until June 17) will also be great for accounting and getting very detailed with spending and saving habits.

Mercury will be retrograde from June 7-July 1.

5/22/14: There is a beautiful Grand Trine/Kite in the sky… Jupiter in Cancer, Saturn in Scorpio, the Moon and Chiron conjunct in Pisces, with Pluto in Capricorn at the tip of the Kite. Our ability to intentionally engage and direct our awareness is a powerful tool that often rusts in the sheds of our minds. We let other people and situations build the mental houses we live in, and then wonder why we don’t feel at home. Maybe we all have an inner dream house, and it’s time to start building it. A little demolition, a little clearing, and a lot of mindful architecture. Before we know it we might just be living the life that fits us.

5/20/14: Anyone feeling agitated? Do you have a building sense of tension or unease, or are you looking for a release? Mars in Libra is direct again as of last night at 9:31pm EDT; the arrow has been released, the missile fired.

Where is your target?

Wherever Mars resides in your personal chart, that area will likely be stimulated right now. It will be the part of your life in which you are ready to take charge again after the last few weeks of behaving more passively than usual. Mars rules Aries – a Fire sign – where Uranus (the planet of agitation, invention, and surprise) is about halfway through its seven-year stint and still opposite Mars in Libra. So light a candle (or several) to help burn off any stale energy in your vicinity that might threaten to hold you back or make you waver on your course. Focus your new abundance of positive, forward-moving energy in the direction you want to go towards, and then let it happen and enjoy the ride. You are back on track, armed and ready.

For today, Libra Mars is trine the Moon in Aquarius and the Sun in its final hours in Taurus. Let your emotions lead you to the humanitarian solutions, the choices that can potentially result in the greater good for all, and find inspiration in unusual places. Make your final, last ditch efforts to balance your accounts, appreciate what you have, and enjoy the skin you’re in. Later tonight the Sun will move into Gemini at 10:59pm EDT, joining that sign’s ruler, Mercury, in its home base (well, one of them anyway – dualistic Mercury is also at home in and rules Virgo). Sun in Gemini will bring us an increase in communication, and uptick in curiosity, maybe some short-distance and short-term travel, and a healthy dose of fun and mischief. As the weather warms up, throw on your flip flops, host an impromptu beach-themed party, and let your mood lighten up with laughter.

The Moon will move into Pisces at 8:18am EDT tomorrow, 5/21, which is an excellent beginning to Gemini. Mythologically, Gemini’s ruler Mercury (Hermes in Greece) is the messenger god and the only one able to travel from Mount Olympus to Earth to Hades and back with his winged hat and sandals. He is patron of poets, orators, languages, and wit and is also associated with the Egyptian god Thoth, who like Hermes rules magic. Getting where I’m going with this? Let the power of the watery Neptunian (Pisces) Moon open your intuition to higher resonances of communication and set up this next month to be a magical one, where your connection to your intuition is strong and clear. Open up communication within yourself so that you might hear more clearly the divine whispers already there – meditate to find your answers.

May 23-26 will be good days for business dealings, which makes taking the time to listen now that much more important. Mercury/Hermes also rules merchants, the marketplace, trade, and accounting – listen as your intuition guides you in those areas.

5/13/14: The Scorpio Moon is growing to become Full by 3:15pm EDT on Wednesday, 5/14. Remember, the Full Moon is the sign opposite on the zodiac wheel from where the Sun is placed, so Taurus Sun means Scorpio Full Moon. She is reflecting the sunlight of the ego with the lunar energy of emotions that balance us. Both earthy Taurus and watery Scorpio are fixed, feminine signs, and as our collective solar energy focuses on what we value in life, what we can touch and enjoy and put our hands on, the Moon is reminding us to also honor and value our intuition, our true source of inner power and strength, and our ability to share. And both emphasize our physical health and sensual enjoyment.

Retrograde Mars in Libra goes direct May 19th at 9:31pm EDT. This Mars placement is teaching us fairness and discernment; now is the time to reflect and soon it will be the time to act. A “slower” Mars gives us the opportunity to mentally evaluate our position, to examine the chess board of our lives more closely so that our next move makes sense. The differences in motive of a game of chess and life, however, include that we’re not “playing to win” but rather we are learning to move strategically to grow. We aren’t ruthlessly killing off opponents, we’re letting go of what we don’t need and what doesn’t serve our goals. We hold on to our Queen because she reminds us of the power of the feminine in balance to the vulnerability of the masculine that’s within each of us. After all, your opposing player is only yourself. No matter the outcome, we will experience it all until we decide to put the board away.

Venus and Uranus are conjunct in Aries, so expect romantic sparks to fly for better or worse. Also, check your spending habits and notice if you’re suddenly buying things you hadn’t planned to. Impulsive pleasure seeking can be a result of this combination, though it can also bring sudden insight into money-making when well-directed.

4/29/14: Just a day later, hours following the annular solar eclipse in Taurus with the Moon/Mercury conjunction in strong opposition to Saturn in Scorpio, and the impact is visible. Here are some recently posted items I’ve come across just this morning:

Saturn is the karmic leveler. Saturn brings law and order, boundaries, structure, and come-uppance in life. In Scorpio, one of the things that means is that secrets about health and medical issues rise the to surface – especially when the opposing (or influencing) energy is from Taurus, who is all about our physical body and enjoying sensual pleasures, certainly not the least of which is eating. The energy of Mercury means it is widely communicated, and the influence of the Moon means it will have an emotional impact – in this case, likely directly related to our nurturing desires towards our kids.

The fact that this country largely feeds itself, and most scarily it’s children, pure crap is getting the spotlight today. I hope it shines bright enough to burn away the darkness of this issue and bring some positive change. We are what we eat, and so are our kids.

Another influence of Saturn in Scorpio is bringing to light shared resources and finances. It’s time we stopped sharing our hard-earned money with people and businesses that don’t mind feeding us what kills us so they can feed their bank accounts. How far does this have to go before we grow up about the choices we make? :/ Our dollars and our voices have enough power to change things, but it’s our choice whether we use them. And that’s Saturn in Scorpio, too…owning our power.

She’s got a great start on shining the light and is a pioneer for change that helps all of us.

4/28/14: The Moon has just entered Taurus today at 10:23am EDT, joining the Sun and Mercury already there. I’ve mentioned in previous posts that Taurus energy doesn’t like change, and its patience is legendary in its quiet build to absolute intolerance. Be careful in the next few days how patient you are on the outside when on the inside you are about ready to scream. Patience is a virtue but so is honesty, and both work best with timing. So when the time is right don’t pass up an opportunity to express what you need, how you need it, and when you need it – because everyone else really cannot read your mind the way you may sometimes assume they can.

One interesting way Taurus energy, in particular, communicates when combined with Mercury energy is through our hands – as in building, crafting, creating, cooking, tending, and nurturing. The best form of communication in the next couple of days may be tangible. What can you make real? Taurus, ruled by Venus, is also noted for its romantic side; with Venus currently in Pisces, your sense of love and romance may be felt most in the next few days through music, poetry, or acting out fantasies. Be careful of overindulging in food and wine, or anything else eaten or imbibed, as Taurus loves to eat and Pisces loves to drink, and Venus makes everyone feel good.

Mercury in Taurus is opposite Saturn in Scorpio, and the Sun and Moon will catch up to that opposition soon, too. Taurus and Scorpio are both fixed signs and are opposite on the zodiac wheel, which means they each seek to balance the energy of the other. When these two stubborn signs go head to head, the resulting energy can look like a deadlock of the immovable (Taurus) to the powerfully transforming (Scorpio).

What transformation in health, sexuality, jointly held resources, and your personal sense of power might you be resisting? If you’re in a deadlock with any of those issues in your life, turn that dynamic in your favor. Use your gifts for steadiness and appreciating what is material in your life (the things your money can buy, but most importantly your physical body) and your innate understanding of the life/death/rebirth cycle (everything changes at some point) to take the best of both energies and move forward in your life. Maybe it’s time to get real about one or more of those major topics in your life by letting something go or building something new.

Also going on right now, we will have an annular solar eclipse at 2:14am EDT on Tuesday, 4/29, but only those Down Under or near there will get a view. Because of the Moon’s place in its elliptical orbit around the Earth, the eclipse will produce a “ring of fire” effect. But again, apparently it will all be for the penguins in Antarctica this time. The rest of us still have the opportunity to feel the effects of the eclipse by “resetting” our egos. Again, since the Sun and Moon will both be in Taurus for the eclipse, that energy is where the focus will be – in learning to value the physical, tangible, material parts of our lives and ourselves.

4/22/14: Happy Earth Day! We are just into the Sun shining in Taurus; shift was on 4/19 at 11:55pm EDT with a Capricorn Moon. Taurus is an Earth sign and is grounded, patient, great at attracting money and material things in life, and stubborn, stubborn, stubborn. The symbol is an ox or bull and represents fertility and strength. Those with lots of Taurus energy tend to be slow to change, steady on a course, and patient to a fault – you generally can’t tell they’ve reached their limit until it’s too late. You know what they say about messing with the bull…

The Moon was in Capricorn (also an Earth sign) until very early this morning on 4/22, at 12:17am EDT when it shifted into Aquarius and also towards the Last Quarter phase. The energy of the LQ phase helps us let go of what isn’t working on our path toward our goals, reintegrate our objectives into focus, and cleanse ourselves and our lives of what is clogging our flow. If we want to manifest in life, then we’ve gotta get the junk outta the way…again. We get this chance over and over! The Last Quarter Moon phase is a monthly reminder for us to move with that in mind so that we can be free and clear during the New Moon to imagine and visualize what we DO want, and then have a clear road to walk towards it during the next lunar growth cycle.

Remember, the Moon represents our emotions, the feminine, the mysterious, nurturing, maternal instincts and actions, and cycles – among other things. It is the yin to our solar yang. We must honor this natural balance both within us and outside of us.

Venus rules Taurus and is currently conjunct Chiron (wounded healer) in Pisces and forming a Grand Trine with Jupiter in Cancer and Saturn in Scorpio. It’s a busy sky between that and the Grand Cross still holding; we still have plenty of opportunities for healing. Mercury moves into Taurus on 4/23 at 5:16AM EDT. Naturally airy and quick-moving, Mercury gets an infusion of patience and grounding when Taurus energy is present. Things get real – as in tangible – so you may find it’s time to put money where your mouth has been, or you may finally be the long-waiting recipient of IOUs.

Either way, it’s ok. This is a short ride we’re on, so try to keep your ego in check and fear out of the picture and see what the real lessons are in whatever situation you find yourself…the soul lessons that matter the most, bring you the most balance, and help both yourself and those around you. And don’t forget to do something for the Earth today, too! Plant, pick up, recycle, bike, walk, whatever you can to honor the mother we all share!

4/16/14: Well, I got up in the middle of the night to see the red lunar eclipse but wasn’t able to see it directly through the cloudy night. What light did filter through was, indeed, red – so that was cool to see. It cast an eerie, red and gray hazy light that gave the sky a quality that felt like I was in a sci-fi movie right before a character figures something out. For better or worse, I have yet to decipher the message…

If you missed the show, you’ll have three more chances in the next year and a half. There is a tetrad, or series of four, full lunar eclipses where the Moon will turn red between last night and 2015s September 28th. The dates are April 15, 2014 (obviously ); October 8, 2014; April 4,2015; September 28, 2015. Also interesting, while red lunar eclipses are not necessarily a rare event, prior to the 20th century there weren’t any for about 300 years. Those dates will bring more of this Aries/Libra balancing we’re doing individually and collectively – read below and on Monday’s Current Sky for more on that.

The gist of it is about how we assert ourselves, forge our personal paths in life, and find our own identities (Aries energy) while also figuring out how to be social, make things work with others in a fair and balanced way, and honor beauty in ourselves and the world (Libra energy). The zodiac is positioned on a circle or wheel, and every sign has its opposite. Aries and Libra represent the opposing energies of “primary self” and “with another”. Each of us has a complex personal makeup and in our charts we all share these and every other energy in the zodiac. Regarding these particular two energies, we as individuals often struggle to balance what is right for us to do for ourselves with what is fair in relation to another (or others) in our lives.

This is an issue we all face, and these red Moon eclipses mark emphasis on us resetting our emotional perspectives on how we see and do things. Do you give yourself enough space and time in your life to know who you are independently of everyone else? Do you deal with your partner fairly and notice all the beauty around you?

With the Moon now passing through the intensity of Scorpio, thinking deeply about those questions and whatever questions you come up with, too, will be a little easier for today and tomorrow. Trust what your intuition tells you, because a Scorpio Moon boosts your intuitive powers!

4/14/14: Today the star deck is stacked in cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn), which offers us the energy of getting things going – getting moving on the personal projects and business affairs we’ve been building in our lives. The balance of a Grand Cross is offering us the energy of patience and moving forward with slow and steady strength, listening to the messages we get and honoring a slower pace when a slower pace is the right one. So in blending cardinal energy with the Grand Cross, we are moving forward into our endeavors with the momentum and power of a marching army of a million; it may not move quickly but it can be an unstoppable presence. All the more reason to make sure our goals and ambitions are well-thought out and in line with our highest intentions in this life…what we move on matters!

The Full Moon in Libra will happen at 3:42am EDT on 4/15 (very early Tuesday morning) and is also a lunar eclipse during which the Moon will appear red. If you want to see this from the East Coast, set an alarm and watch it between 2am and 5:30am tonight. Astrologically, think of a lunar eclipse like a reset button for your feminine side.

This is powerful.

The Moon will be conjunct Aries ruler Mars in Libra. This is about how we relate to ourselves and with others, how the way we see ourselves is the basis on which we interact with everyone else, especially the most important partners in our lives. Libra is ruled by Venus, the planet that invokes all things of beauty, sensual pleasures, love, and money. Venus is currently in Pisces between Chiron and Neptune, and is busy healing our individual and collective relationships to those things. The deal is, all of those things require receiving energy (feminine). Think of this lunar eclipse in Libra as a chance to become more empowered through surrender and to open yourself to an abundance of beauty and pleasure in your life. Venus also rules Taurus, a feminine sign of the Earth that represents being grounded…represented by the root chakra and the color red. And, Mars is the red planet.

The Mars/Moon conjunction I mentioned above is opposite the Sun in Aries, as well as the Uranus/Mercury conjunction in Aries. Soooo…wow. There are a bunch of messages in here, so I’ll list a few that come to mind:

- With Mars and the Sun in opposition, be aware of falling prey to your temper via your ego. It’s not that things are necessarily going to be fair, but your reaction doesn’t have to go bananas. Remember, you’re the only one who sees you the way you do. Everyone is number one on their own priority list, too, so keep that in mind when you think anyone else should bow to you. Consider the only bowing as coming from your own thoughts and emotions to your intuition, so that your higher mind/self is leading the way and your interactions with everyone else fall into a state of better outer balance that reflects your better inner balance.

- With the Moon and the Sun in opposition, emotions and ego are at opposite ends of the spectrum. How you feel and what you think are likely not quite matching up in the next day or two. But that’s ok, because it gives us the perspective to recognize how complex we are and to notice the patterns we each have of which side (emotions or thoughts) we gravitate towards. This could tell you a lot about yourself, and also how it influences how you relate to other people!

- With Uranus (innovation, technology, unpredictability, quirkiness) and Mercury (communication, short-distance travel, the marketplace, trickster) conjunct in Aries (fiery trailblazer, lustful, aggressive, quick temper) AND in opposition to the Mars/Moon in Libra conjunction…just stay home. I’m kidding. Seriously though, if you don’t like surprises, or change, or fire (more likely figuratively) – and if you don’t keep an open mind and a healthy sense of humor – this combo could be rough for you. But if you’re ok with those things then this could be an amazing time to discover something new, like a new technology, or an unusual but highly effective way to communicate, or unexpectedly great sex in a random location. When is the new iPhone or whatever coming out? This is likely the time the inventors of it are getting their intuitive download from the universe to create it.

Bottom line, exercise your ability to let things go. Laugh it off. Go with the flow and actively welcome change when it happens, ’cause it’s gonna. That’s when the magic happens, and it can be good. Notice when how you feel about something or what you think about something takes over what you know about something.

Hope you have a great day!

4/9/14: We’re just past mid-way through Aries and a couple of things are shifting… Mercury moved into Aries Monday at 11:34am EST and is headed towards a Uranus-in-Aries fly by; in fact, they are already conjunct. This particular combination of energy is made of Fire, electricity, technology, and communication and helps us break new ground. It will likely give our words a boost of the unexpected, the inspired, and help us work out technical details. We also might find our tempers igniting quickly and unexpectedly, or in reaction to unusual triggers.

See if you can channel any flare ups into innovative endeavors by looking at things from other angles; recognize how many opportunities there are to change your approach or interpretation so you won’t find yourself in the same situation down the road. Both the Aries Sun and Uranus in Aries energies are trine the Leo Moon today, which will help to smooth over any intellectual rough patches by keeping our emotions relatively at ease and under control.

The waxing first quarter Moon is in Leo until tomorrow evening. Emotionally speaking, remember to be the king or queen you are, not the servant in your own castle. Value your ability to rule in the kingdom that is your life. When you recognize your right to sit on the throne you become accountable and empowered to open your gates to whomever you choose and to decide which laws you’ll live by. So until tomorrow night, let your emotions flourish with the regal energy Leo brings – accept your right to rule, set your boundaries well, and watch your kingdom thrive.

The Leo Moon is also sextile Mars in Libra today, which brings us a bonus of fun, charm, playfulness, and spontaneity. It should be a good day to enjoy your close friends and/or partner.

3/20/14: It’s the Spring (or Vernal) Equinox!

Equinox means “equal night” in Latin and happens twice a year, in the Spring and the Fall. More sunlight and longer days are coming as the Sun passes over the equator today at 12:57pm EST, and we march onward into Spring with the Sun moving into the fiery, headstrong sign of Aries.

Here are a couple of links to learn more about how people around the world celebrate and more on what it means to them (copy and paste urls):

3/14/14: The Moon will move into Virgo at 10:17am EDT today and stay in that sign through the Full Moon coming up this Sunday, 3/16, at 1:08pm EDT. A Virgo Moon feels good when things are in order – especially down to the tiny details. This Moon may inspire you to organize, practice financial thriftiness, eat more healthily, get in a few good workouts, and generally get your life ship-shape. Let go of any tendency you may have to worry or fret or let things you can’t control upset you…let your power flow by trusting the universe and managing what you can. The rest will take care of itself.

Virgo is a mutable Earth sign ruled by Mercury and symbolized by the Virgin – often a fertile or pregnant one – and illustrates our potential for things to come. In mythology, Demeter (Greek) or Ceres (Roman) is the goddess of grain and the harvest who brings to people a civilized way of living that provides for all. With Mercury in humanitarian-minded Aquarius, this influence will touch us all emotionally in the next three days. How can we grow and harvest in ways that help not just ourselves but those in our families, communities, countries, and even the world? A Full Moon implies fruition, so maybe it’s time to wrap up loose ends (with the help of detailed Virgo) for what we’ve been working on to finally happen.

On Monday, 3/17, forward-moving Mercury will sail into Pisces again, where it had a brief stint a few weeks ago before going retrograde and back into Aquarius. Mercury in Pisces is highly intuitive, less concrete in communications, and quite dreamy. Maybe we’ll find and follow the rainbow that leads to our pot of gold; we’ll have to be willing to believe in it first. Later in the week on 3/20, the Sun moves into Aries and marks the Spring Equinox. In many ancient traditions the beginning of Spring marked the New Year and the celebration of fertility – eggs and rabbits ring any bells?

Enjoy the wrapping up of Winter and the excitement of the coming Spring. Before we know it, we’ll be packing the sweaters and scarves and pulling out the shorts and flip flops. Tie up the loose ends that complete this year’s cycle of the season for you, so that you’re fully ready for what’s to come. And regarding Sunday, happy Full Moon!

3/4/14: Today at 12:31pm EST we entered the Crescent Moon phase, the first breaking through into reality of our ideas and plans for this 28-day cycle. This energy was bolstered with the Aries Moon – at least until 2:12pm EST when the Moon moved into Taurus. Both are great growing energies – Aries for fighting bravely for the emergence of what you want and Taurus for nurturing those new sprouts on a physical level (tangibly and/or regarding money). What do you have in the works right now? A Taurus Moon also heralds emotional patience.

Venus moves into Aquarius tomorrow at 4:03pm EST and begins to look lovingly on what’s good for everyone. In Aquarius Venus loves the unusual, the quirky, the forward-thinking and inventive. She’s moving farther from all of the structure and rules she dealt within while in Capricorn and is now working towards expanding her mind in a scientific, humanitarian way.

On Wednesday at 5:42am EST Jupiter in Cancer goes direct again after having been retrograde since 11/7/13. Jupiter will stay direct until 12/8/14 when he goes retro again while in Leo. During that slower, internal period from November to now, we had a huge opportunity to experience growth in our psyches – to see and release the shadows in our hearts that kept us from expressing our bigger, truer, loving selves. And now with the beautiful behemoth going direct, we are turning that same momentum outward and into our homes, our families, and our maternal relationships (whether it’s with our mom, we’re the mom, or both).

Mars in Libra is conjunct the North Node in Libra and fairly propelling us onward towards our karma, our destinies, in as much harmony as we are able to muster. With Mars retrograde until 5/19/14, take time to refocus on tactics rather than overt action. This is a planning stage of action, with emphasis on mental strength, agility, and acuity – not bloody battles. This is when the more mental Aries (sign ruled by Mars) shine; some examples are Andrew Lloyd Webber, Gloria Steinem, Robert Frost, Sandra Day O’Connor, Leonard Nimoy, Johann Sebastian Bach, Vincent Van Gogh, Eric Clapton, Rene Descartes, Hans Christian Andersen, Marvin Gaye, Washington Irving, Maya Angelou, Booker T. Washington, Colin Powell, Harry Houdini, Ram Dass, Francis Ford Coppola, Thomas Jefferson, Henry James, Charlie Chaplin, and Picasso to name a few…the list goes on.

Aries aren’t always about the literal battleground; they can be, but they can also be pioneers of the mind. Find that energy within yourself while Mars is taking a more introspective path. Where in life have you been hacking away, when really you’ll be better served by employing your mental muscles?

And finally, Saturn in Scorpio went retrograde at 11:19am EST on 3/2, bringing us opportunity to reassess the structure of our personal power in this life. What makes you powerful? Are you sure? Saturn is giving us some time to figure this out and realign with ourselves on our deepest levels, starting with our connections to our health, sex, death, and taxes. All the fun stuff. Gotta love that (!).

Above are ways some planets are affecting us all. Exactly how Venus, Jupiter, Mars, and Saturn will affect you even more personally is discovered within your chart.

Hope you have an awesome week!

2/24/14: This is an astrologically interesting year. Here’s the latest going on in the surrounding weeks:

- the Sun entered Pisces on 2/18 (dissolving boundaries that inhibit compassion of self and others)

- Mercury in Aquarius is retrograde until 2/28 (Mercury goes into Pisces on 3/17; re-check all communications; let transactions take time)

- Pisces New Moon is on 3/1 (planting seeds of compassion; opening to empathy; letting go of hurt)

- Mars in Libra goes retrograde on 3/1 (through 5/19; rebalance fairness in your life; relationships may take more effort)

- Saturn in Scorpio goes retrograde on 3/2 (through July 20; time to pay karmic debt and illuminate the hidden)

- Jupiter in Cancer goes direct on 3/6 (expand home and heart)

Changes are coming from lots of directions, and if there’s an overall message within these planetary movements it is listen to your intuition.

I realize you may be getting tired of hearing that. Most of us are, after all, doing that as best we can. But that sneaky bastard fear sidles up and takes the reins so convincingly, pretending it will keep us safe. It’s easy to forget…listen to your intuition. Not having fear doesn’t mean you can’t be cautious, concerned, or wary; not having fear means you make choices with a lightness of heart and an openness of mind that fear doesn’t allow. Living without fear means remembering we have more choices than fear tells us we have, and that we can steer ourselves down paths the blinders of fear hide from us.

Sometimes it feels like when we take the reins back, when we allow ourselves to operate from an open space free of fear, the shit hits the fan. And in truth, it often does. But one way to look at that is, before the shit flew into the fan, we were stockpiling it – hoarding it away for rainy days, building the foundation of our lives upon it. Let’s not be holders of shit. Let’s let it go and let it hit the fan of life, because once it’s all gone then we can simply enjoy the breeze.

Maybe underneath words like “always” and “never” and “must” and “should” are words like “when the time is right” and “whatever” and “it is ok”. Maybe instead of wrapping our arms around our shit for safekeeping, we wrap them around the people (and animals) we love – including ourselves. That’s the where our intuition will steer us, and that’s what the sky is reminding us of right now.

2/19/14: Ooh – are you fired up about something? Maybe nothing in particular, but just pissed off in general at anything conveniently inconvenient? Like the parking space you’re waiting on getting taken right before you can reach it, or the barrage of unsolvable problems at work or home, or the general feeling of impotence to move forward more quickly toward your goals?

You’re not imagining things; it’s there. Jupiter in Cancer is nearing an exact square with Uranus in Aries, culminating on February 26th and again on April 20th. Jupiter in Cancer’s get-up-and-go positive outlook that wants expansion and good times (particularly in home and family) is being blocked by the square tension with Uranus in Aries’s unpredictable and possibly violently infuriating quirkiness (particularly related to any new ventures in life, breaking new ground, or technology).

Adding to that is the Moon (ruler of Cancer) conjunct Mars (ruling planet of Aries) in airy Libra, which might give some of us the impression we would be justified in setting everyone around us “straight”. Given the aforementioned tension in the sky, that’s probably not the best idea right now. Doing that could, in fact, inflict wounds that without the proper healing attention will absolutely fester…justifiably. When your anger takes you off the rails, you are taking down everyone else in your car, too.

We’ve all heard over and over that anger is rooted in fear. So let’s use our hearts and reach down as deeply as we need to to find some kindness, some true fairness, and inner peace and harmony so that we might bring those things outside of us, as well.

Thankfully the Sun entered Pisces yesterday, 2/18, at 12:59pm EST, and the Moon will pass into Scorpio tomorrow night, 2/20, at 10:32pm EST; and they are both bringing a little Water to throw on the Fire. It’s all about balance.

This is a transformative year. It’s ok to be pissed off occasionally and frustrated. It’s not ok to be an asshole to other people because of it. That is a big lesson from Mars in Libra; find the balance and harmony between self-assertion and being a social creature. We each have our agendas, but ultimately we’re all in this together.

2/14/14: How’s Mercury retrograde going for you so far? We began this period with Mercury in watery, intuitive, blending Pisces, but then Mercury slipped back into Aquarius on Wednesday of this week (2/12) at 10:29pm EST. So now the planet of communication is back into it’s technical aspects – as in, focused on technology, looking towards future goals, striving to help humanity as a whole, and coming up with new and inventive ways to approach things. Remember all that with the emphasis on “re”, per the whole retrograde thing…

Mercury is conjunct the Sun in Aquarius, lending a chatty aspect to ego, and both are trine the Mars in Libra/North Node in Scorpio conjunction that is striving to fairly bring about karmic transformation in our lives. Add to that the dreamy conjunction of the Sun and Mercury with Neptune in Pisces (itself conjunct Chiron in Pisces) and we’re still working on our self-healing aspects, too. This can be really nice. It’s about the balance of give and take, the balance of flowing with the river of life versus always taking the position of the active navigator. Feel your moments and when they’re right, take them; but when they’re not, let them go.

The big deal with today, though, is our culture’s focus on Valentine’s Day. Whether you’re embracing it, ignoring it, or running from it…there IT is. I firmly believe there is opportunity in everything – opportunity to learn, to grow, to let go. Today is no different; try to use self-awareness to observe what you feel, think, and do. No judgment, no expectations.

Many of us are going to feel emotionally wide-open tonight with the fiery Leo Full Moon coming to it’s peak at 6:53pm EST. Leo energy is about ego, pride, family, loyalty, romance, luxury, creativity, regality, children, playfulness, dancing, color, control, and drama. Maybe tonight, in whatever way suits you best, you find your moment to roar in this day of love – however fabricated, however marketed it may be. Take the focus off of what you need/want/look for from anyone else and put it on your inner contentment no matter what the outside conditions are.

You can make it what you want, and that kind of power IS something to roar about.

2/10/14: We’ve finally got a little relief in the sky today with several Water Grand Trines involving Neptune/Mercury conjunct in Pisces, North Node in Scorpio, Jupiter/Moon conjunct in Cancer, and even Mars in airy Libra is at the party. It’s been tense of late with cardinal Grand Crosses and T-squares involving Uranus in Aries, Pluto in Capricorn, and Jupiter in Cancer; those harder aspects can be challenging to manage in a Horse year when we want to charge ahead freely yet they require us to slow down, exercise patience, and listen. If you’re a natural Fire sign like me, this is not our forte – we have to work at it. But good things can come to those who wait, so stay the course!

Our culture can get really carried away with notion of success being a result of pushing through, but success isn’t always defined by assertion. Sometimes persevering means staying the course in a receptive, open way – like slowing down enough to see what’s really going on so we don’t miss the opportunities around us. Mercury is in retrograde through the end of February, and offers us the next few weeks to re-evaluate, re-spond, re-orient, re-read, and “re-” pretty much everything.

We were all blessed with the chance in 2013 to take a wide-open, honest look at ourselves – as in who we really are, what we really want, and perhaps most importantly, why. And now in 2014 that energy is (slowly) becoming our new reality. Life works in cycles and the natural pace of evolution is sometimes very quick but mostly very, very slow. Today with the softer Water aspects in the sky (and balancing, relationship-oriented Mars in Libra) we can enjoy a respite from the brunt of the existing tenser angles and heal…its a day to re-coup, if you will.

We can do this.

2/5/14: How screwy do things feel today? My cell phone has been all kinds of crazy cutting off calls/not receiving texts/having bizarrely bad reception, tv did some weird reseting last night mid-show, and a deal just fell through. Hello.

Mercury is clamming up starting tomorrow, going retrograde 4:43pm EST through the end of the month, 2/28, but it’s normal to feel the energy a little before the technical shift.

It worked out for the better today, too – when two things I feared would cost a lot ended up becoming easy, breezy fixes with minimal costs and also a whole day in advance.

Just goes to show us it works both ways.

It’d really be a good idea to flex our intuition now and, while it’s always a good idea to find a balance with our rational mind too, maybe just step back from it a little for the next few weeks. What sounds logically “right” may end up differently than you thought, and what you feel in your gut could come to fruition despite all rational processing.

From my vantage point in Charlotte, the waxing Taurus Moon is shining gloriously to us in the shape of a Cheshire cat’s grin. I LOVE that. He represents the maddeningly incomprehensible, the frustratingly undirected, and the uninhibitedly ambiguous. In other words: infinite possibilities. And in Taurus, that means the unlimited manifestation of your material desires…what do you want to make real?

Better put that wish on the Moon tonight.

2/3/14: It’s a spit-fire kind of day with sparks flying from the waxing crescent Aries Moon conjunct Uranus in Aries, forming a T-square to the Pluto/Venus conjunction in Capricorn and Jupiter in Cancer.

It’s time to train your dragon.

No power games today unless you’re ready to rouse the sobering ire of Saturn in Scorpio square both Mercury in Pisces and the Sun in Aquarius; no – today Saturn has deeper issues in mind and is not interested in any flitting around. Only compassionate, fair words that speak from the heart of your intuition (Mars in Libra trine Mercury in Pisces) and acting for the greater good of all (Mars also trine Sun in Aquarius) will do. Our inner and outer growth/healing are still on the right track (Mercury/Neptune/Chiron conjunction in Pisces trine Jupiter in Cancer) but with all the extra tension in the sky mentioned above we cannot expect to get everything right away.

The Universe is – as always – calling for balance and today it’s up to us to find a delicate one between what we want, how much we push to get it, how well we listen intuitively, calling our deeper motives by name, and patience, patience, patience. We’d better want what we want for the right reasons, and when we admit what those reasons are then things fall right into place. We’re moving towards our goals with the pace of the Moon’s phase which reminds us that even though some things seem to happen very quickly, most take time because they’re aligned with natural cycles.

Again, it’s dragon-taming, choosing-the-right-wolf-to-feed time. And with Mercury going retrograde this Thursday (2/6) until the end of the month, we need the discipline of listening so that our greater care in communications can keep us from rushing past all of the signs around us that are here to help.

Wishing good luck for us all!

1/29/14: The Moon is moving through Capricorn today and will transition into Aquarius at 11:33pm EST tonight for the New Moon at 4:38pm EST on Thursday. The New Moon brings opportunity to begin a cycle anew, to start the growing phase for your seeds and plans, and to emerge with clarity into your life’s next adventure. An Aquarian New Moon is an auspicious time for beginning a new cycle – it’s not overly emotional, sentimental, or gushing. What it does have is vision, forward thinking, humanitarian goals, and inventiveness – and remember, all of those qualities are emotionally based when connected to the Moon.

Aquarius operates at the higher vibration of Saturnian (structuring) energy – which has been strong of late – and takes life to a new level with it’s ruling planet Uranus. Uranus has been steadily in Aries since 3/11/11 and will stay there until 3/6/19 (with a brief stint in Taurus from 5/15/18-11/6/18). This placement of Aquarius’s ruling planet adds warrior fire to an already active energy. Notice if you feel more fired-up than usual about your goals in the next few days.

The flip side of motivated, forward-moving energy that Aries can add to Uranus is the war-hungry, blood-lusting, violent side of Mars (ruling planet of Aries). Coming from this Saturnian holding pattern we’ve been in of late with a good portion of our sky deck stacked in Capricorn (read earlier posts for more on that), today Mars in Libra is dealing with tension as he’s square Jupiter in Cancer and also square the Moon and Venus conjunct in Capricorn (Pluto is conjunct Moon/Venus, too, but not square Mars). That’s a lot of “I’m ready right fucking now” energy combined with “Hold on, let’s just make sure” energy.

You may realize you’re at a point where you’re ready to explode, implode, or otherwise be ground zero for a massive and not-so-nice release of all you’ve been holding onto/in/together. Hang in there. I can’t say that enough. This year began in a most-excellent alignment for resetting your personal stage; that doesn’t usually happen overnight, but can be amazing when you give the pieces the time they need to fall into place. So to get the battle-ready part of you sated go to the gym, go to hot yoga, run til you drop, or have the best sex of your life even if it’s by yourself. Point is, get it out in ways that help and don’t harm both yourself and others.

Maybe all we need is love…but wine is nice, too. Balance what you take in with what you put back out, and take the time to enjoy all the lovely, wonderful people and parts of your life.

Happy New Moon tomorrow! Keep this year moving towards what you want, even when that means not doing anything more than tending to your own needs.

1/25/14: Relatively quiet sky today…the Moon is in Scorpio until 10:12pm EST, when it moves into Sagittarius. Saturn is exactly conjunct the Moon at 22 degrees Scorpio, and adds a dollop of sobriety, seriousness, and structure to how you may be feeling. Go there. Sink with the weight so you can feel it, and once it’s passed (or past) you can float back to the surface. There’s a time for everything.

Also buddied up in the sky are Venus and Pluto in Capricorn; Venus is still taking her time in retrograde for the next week until 1/31, at which time she’ll pull up her petticoat and hustle forward again. We have about six more days to slow down and enjoy the little things. And while she’s right there with Pluto, we get the chance to see the beauty in whatever we normally might not – the destruction, the deconstruction, the death. Clear with fire today, plant new seeds at the Aquarius New Moon coming on Thursday, 3/30.

Neptune and Chiron are still together in Pisces and giving us ample opportunity to talk to our inner gods and goddesses, to heal our innate divinity, and to use it to connect with and heal others and the planet. Through the dreamy openness of Neptune we can see what’s normally hidden in the mist and fog, and by facing our inner wounds with healing intention we are doing the same for everything around us, too. Healing starts within – take care of yourself.

1/19/14: Things have shifted – no more Grand Cross! There’s still some balancing tension going on – for which we are grateful – but the locked Grand Cross has passed for now. The Sun moves into Aquarius at 10:51pm EST tonight and the Virgo Moon begins Disseminating phase at 2:34am EST early Monday morning. What details in your life are unraveling…or should be? Where can you tweak, adjust, slightly manipulate to make things better – give things some breathing room and let out just a little?

We’ve got a couple of weeks before another Mercury retrograde period (from 2/6 until 2/28). Also, Venus is in retrograde until 1/31. Try to see retrogrades as balancing energy, the kind we need to remind us to mind the p’s and q’s, dot the i’s and cross the t’s, and generally slow down enough to get a good look at where we are and what we’re doing. Mercury is communication, working with your hands, and learning to listen; Venus is living and loving the good life, appreciating the beauty within and around us, and connecting sensually to it all.

Venus is conjunct Pluto, which means the beauty we just might be admiring at the moment is, well, ugly. What about yourself has risen to the surface lately that you love to hate? Flip the coin and just love it. It’s all a part of who/what you are, and does not exist without meaning. How rich do you want your life to be? How far are you willing to go to get it? That’s Venus in retrograde conjunct Pluto: a hard, slow look at the depth of your soul. Or you could just go watch the Kardashians. You know, whatever. Free will, and all.

Happy Aquarius, and cheers to the rebels, the renegades, the inventors, the quirky, the humanitarians who carry forward Prometheus’s fire and remind us we’re moving towards something.

1/15/14: Tonight at 11:52pm EST is the Full Moon in Cancer. Right now, the Moon is conjunct Jupiter as it’s passing through the constellation of Cancer, and absorbing the abundance of that planet. This is a strong Full Moon, as the Moon rules Cancer and jovial Jupiter magnifies luck, fortune, and pretty much everything else. The energy within this Moon is emotionally charged, feminine, intuitive, magical, sensitive, caring, nurturing, needing to be nurtured, mother-related, money-related, humorous, crabby, social, reclusive, and changes like the tides. Combined with Jupiter thrust, all of those things are amplified.

Each one of us has this energy within. We all consist of feminine/masculine, dark/light, receptive/active, yin/yang to varying degrees. During the next few days, we are given the chance to honor the feminine – the yin – and all of the strengths and beauty inherent in those parts of us. If you are a Cancer, or have a Cancer Moon or Cancer rising, a stellum in your fourth house, or another prominent placement of the Moon in your natal or solar return chart then you’re likely to feel this energy more than most.

Knowledge is power because it broadens our choices. When you feel something but have no awareness of the larger picture of how the energy is working through your life’s patterns, it’s easy to get caught up in the swirl of emotions or thoughts that result and miss opportunities or take ones subconsciously that keep you locked into habits you’ve been trying to change. Another good reason to know your chart.

Take the energy of this Cancer Full Moon to heart and let your gut be your guide for where in life it’s time to nurture growth, and from where in life it’s time to retreat. Find a point of balance with how much you nurture everyone and everything, and how much they nurture you. Listen to your intuition. Ebb and flow through life in the next few days like the tide.

1/12/14: The Moon moved into Gemini yesterday at 7:25am EST and is in Gibbous phase, growing towards the Cancer Full Moon coming on Wednesday night. Mercury moved into Aquarius at 4:34pm EST, adding a touch more Air to the watery sky we’ve had for a while. There’s a brief quincunx between the Moon and Pluto in Capricorn today, cautioning us to not get carried away with nervous or anxious emotions. Stay the course, trust your intuition, and – with Venus still retrograde – smell the roses. That brief pause to enjoy and appreciate what’s around you may just bring enough stillness to get the clearer view we all need.

We’re still in the cardinal Grand Cross holding pattern that, like I’ve posted below, gives us excellent opportunity to get what we want in life as long as we’re willing to slow down a little and find the inner balance that, of course, leads to outer balance. Manifest from within, stay positive, listen, and succeed.

Happy Sun-day

1/6/14: Get ready to rumble… The Moon is moving into fiery Aries today at 2:45pm EST and will conjunct Uranus in Aries as it passes by over the next day. Uranus brings the unexpected, the inventive, the rebellious, the inspiring, and the humanitarian elements to the bigger picture. Adding to that emotional mix of no-nonsense, “get ‘er done” energy of headstrong Aries is that the Moon is in a growing phase and will be first quarter on 1/7 at 10:39pm EST. The waxing cycle of lunar energy is a growing of the seeds you’ve planted, a rising of the water table (literally and figuratively), a steadily increasing surge. Whatever you’ve sown, get ready to see it burst through the ground on its way towards the Sun.

But wait! Uranus (and also the Moon for the next day) is still part of the cardinal Grand Cross that involves an opposition to Mars (Aries ruler) in Libra, a square to Jupiter in Cancer, and squares to Pluto and the Sun still conjunct in Capricorn. Things are going, but at a pace that is fair, balanced with home life, and practical. Be careful not to trip over your own shoelaces; take the time to tie them and see what you notice in that short break. Venus retrograde is still here (til 1/31) to slow us down just a little and smell the roses along the way.

Pretty cool beginning for 2014. What do you want it to look like? Are you listening to your intuition?

Capricorn, as earthy and grounded and practical as it may be, has a touch of magic and a healthy dose of wit. That is an excellent combination to temper the Sun/Pluto/Mercury conjunction in opposition to Jupiter in Cancer (still locked in a cardinal Grand Cross with Mars in Libra/Uranus in Aries). You may be ready to take on the world or make some major changes in life, but Jupiter in Cancer is calling major attention to your home, the people in it, and shedding light on all of the subconscious motives really driving your decisions. That doesn’t mean you aren’t headed in the right direction, it’s simply bringing caution, time for double-checking, and the opportunity for excellent planning. These are good things.

Patience is a highly recommended virtue at this time, and will pay off in the end. The balance of the New Year’s Capricorn Sun and New Moon’s Capricorn energy is a beautiful and timely harbinger of the year ahead, and illuminates the balance between the yin/yang, dark/light, feminine/masculine, receptive/active elements within each of us. Find your point of balance, your fulcrum, and as you steady yourself and take a look around, see things from that stable, safe, and grounded position. And with Venus retrograde until 1/31, slow down and enjoy things – linger a little on the good stuff.

In the dark of this Moon, plant your seeds for the future – not just for this Moon cycle, but for your entire year ahead.

12/19/13: Gemini Full Moon was at 4:28am EST Tuesday (12/17) morning right before Uranus in Aries (still opposite Mars in Libra) went direct at 12:39pm EST, with Mercury and the Sun conjunct in Sagittarius. We’ve all experienced a lot of energy this week in addition to this already heightened time of year. It’s a time of epiphany, forward motion (remember how all summer we were setting the ground work for this?), and change.

Gemini, ruled by Mercury the messenger of the gods, offers us insight and divine communication. But of course, it’s up to us to listen and the bane of Gemini energy is distraction. So in the midst of chaos, in the moments of confusion, in the element of feeling overwhelmed – just let it all go and flow with it. Let go of your ideas of “perfection” and whatever that looks like in your head and get on board with what’s actually in front of you. Work with that. Find the beauty of imperfection, the harmony within chaos, the humor in confusion, and the ability to float above the tide of the overwhelming. Let it all go and become light as a feather, the only weight your heart should carry.

Eat the biscuit, drink the potion.

Just don’t drive afterwards.

I think we just need a Mad Hatter tea party moment right now.

“We’re all mad here.” ~ Lewis Carroll

I believe he was on to something…

The Moon moves into Leo at 1:47am EST 12/20, the Sun into Capricorn at 12:11pm EST 12/21, and the Winter Solstice is also at 12:11pm EST 12/21.

Leading Leo is fiery, loyal, stubborn, and all about family. Practical but magical Capricorn is setting structures and taking charge and dealing with authority (or authority issues). The Winter Solstice is the longest night/shortest day and the point when days begin to lengthen again towards the Summer Solstice in June.

Take Saturday – or for that matter, Friday through Sunday – to nest in, to light your fires inside and out, to snuggle and dream and plan. Grow the dreams of today throughout the next cycle of the Sun’s growth. The Solstice energy carries on through New Year’s Eve.

There is a Capricorn New Moon on 1/1/2014, coinciding perfectly with the New Year. Combine your lunar/receptive/feminine energy with your solar/active/masculine energy to balance the yin and yang that are also both within and without.

Remember that the season at hand isn’t about the money you spend on gifts everyone can do without. It’s about your presence as present enough, and the gift of you showing up with an open heart being the most priceless thing you could offer. I hope you enjoy the holidays!

And a very merry unbirthday to us all.

12/11/13: Beware your emotional impulses today! The Sun is in Sagittarius along with a Moon/Uranus conjunction in Aries, and with all that Fire “impulsive” may just be a spark from the inferno regarding your emotions. Think the unexpected, the exciting, the prophetic, the new, the daring, the bold, the fiery, the innovative.

Personally, I’m this close to getting another dog because I just saw a link on Facebook for an adorable 8-month-old in a kill shelter, and with the energy I just mentioned tugging my heartstrings, I want to go get that puppy.

Impulsive? Check. Unexpected? Check. Daring, bold? Considering my husband is at his limit with pets, check and check. Fiery? Check – I’d like to ride in on my white horse and slay the kill shelter dragon in that puppy’s life.

Both the Moon and Uranus are square Jupiter in Cancer, implying that emotional decisions made today may not result in the best scenario at home. Any tense angle to expansive, jovial Jupiter is typically less severe, though, so it’s not to say things definitely wouldn’t work out, just that good planning and patience should accompany any changes. And luckily, Mercury in Sagittarius trine the Moon/Uranus conjunction can help us keep our higher goals in mind.

Adding to the delicate balance of heart and head are several planets in quincunx: Aries Moon to Scorpio Saturn; Cancer Jupiter to Sagittarius Sun; Pisces Neptune to Libra Mars. It’s like the Universe is saying “What more do I have to do to you for you to understand heart and head have to work together today?”

On a side note Mars shifted on 12/7, moving out of demure, mutable Virgo and into righteous, cardinal Libra. If you’ve felt more fired up about fairness, that could be why.

In opposition to Uranus in Aries, be careful to get all the facts before reacting; there is often a bigger picture behind what is triggered initially by inspiration or impulse. Before fighting an unnecessary battle within yourself, remember that you’re in this life for the long run and just let some things go. Sometimes it’s better to let the natural balance of things transpire organically.

That’s karma, baby.

12/1/13: First day of December, moving towards a New Moon in Sagittarius tomorrow at 7:22pm EST. But until 1:31am EST on 12/2, the Moon remains in Scorpio right between Mercury and Saturn in conjunction to both.

All three are harmoniously trine Jupiter in Cancer and sextile Venus in Capricorn. Let that energy encourage you to make choices of where and with whom you spend your time based on what you really want – not what you think is expected of you. Especially during holiday seasons, it’s easy to fall into old familial patterns that pull us unhappily into relationship dynamics and patterns that we never liked in the first place.

So why repeat them?

It is possible to honor what you need and simultaneously be respectful and loving with others. And if you are being respectful and loving and others are still getting their underwear in a twist, learn to let it go and give them the space they need to grow.

A recurring theme lately has been to realize that appeasement isn’t doing anyone any good – not you, not them. Very few encounters in life actually call for a martyr. Situations don’t have to become contentious either, but there is nothing wrong with standing up for yourself fairly.

The kicker is to do that, you have to value yourself; that’s where a lot of people cave. So use the fiery energy of this Sagittarius Sun trine Uranus in Aries (both Fire signs) to think positively, philosophically, and become emboldened to represent yourself.

11/20/13: The Moon moved into Cancer this morning at 6:22am EST, and is in a Grand Cross with an opposition to Pluto/Venus conjunct in Capricorn and a square to Uranus in Aries. You may be feeling a “me first” tug between your emotions, your desire to get ahead, and your need for inspiration and change. Ride it out for a day or two and hold off on letting power struggles get the best of you. Flow with whatever moment you’re in; Mercury is well-aspected and can help you find the right words at the right time…or silence when necessary.

Mercury is conjunct Saturn and North Node in Scorpio, trine the Pluto/Venus conjunction in Capricorn, and in a Grand Trine with Neptune/Chiron conjunct in Pisces and the Moon in Cancer. All of these positive connections mean your communication skills are on today! Intuition is high, choosing the right words is easy, negotiations proceed smoothly, you can speak your truth kindly, and you can stand by what you say.

Remember that, as with any energy, you are presented with opportunity - but it’s still up to you to do something with it. Possibility does not guarantee anything, it presents a likelihood of a given energy being expressed. You have free will and nobody but you can use it. By connecting with the vibrations around you, you have a better chance of becoming aware and mindful throughout your day and in your interactions with others. You enhance your innate ability to flow rather than continue to go against the grain. But again, it’s still up to you. Can you feel it, baby?

11/15/13: We are midway through November, and the Sun is in Scorpio along with Saturn, North Node, and Mercury, and all of them together are continuing to work their magic of getting to the depths within us that we usually hide or ignore. Let the mystery of you unravel – at the least, to reveal yourself to yourself – so that your forward movement isn’t unconscious, but rather, guided intentionally by the deepest desires with which you came into this world. You have that power, use it wisely.

Pluto and Venus are exactly conjunct today in Capricorn and trine the Moon, which just entered Taurus at 9:49am EST. This swelling of Earth energy can work to ground you through the tangibles of your life; enjoy the physical luxuries and pleasures you encounter today, whether that is in the form of a pumpkin scone, a new pair of winter boots, buying a bouquet of flowers, taking time for a massage, or whatever else connects you to the material world. Allow the connection to your sensual self – through the literal indulgence of your senses – cool any anger or irritations and redirect the Fire you might feel (Pluto and Venus square Uranus in Aries) into creative and spiritual inspiration.

We are out of the most recent Mercury in retrograde period, so speak the truth you’ve been feeling inside. Trust your intuition, as it is clearer than usual today. Emotional energy is building toward the Full Moon in Taurus coming on Sunday at 10:15am EST. Taurus Moons bring patience and emotional fortitude through their fixed strength, but do your best not to quietly allow what you don’t want; sometimes silence is misread as acquiescence and agreement, and when you are patient to a fault for too long, it takes very little to set off the bull-in-the-china-shop level of destruction. Take responsibility for lovingly setting the boundaries in your own life, and avoid hurting others later because you didn’t speak up when you first felt out of alignment with other people or situations.

11/6/13: If you get a chance to look at the waxing Crescent Moon tonight, do. It’s beautiful.

Having just left Sagittarius, it moved into Capricorn at 4:43pm EST today. Emotionally/at home/related to mother archetypes/ our personal psyches/energetic ebbs and flows in life – these are things of the Moon (natural ruler of Cancer). In moving from Sagittarius to Capricorn, the Moon shifts us from focusing on the hunt – whether for higher knowledge or carnal knowledge – to building the solid structures in our lives.

The momentum of the Crescent phase propels us towards the first growth of the seeds and wishes planted days ago at the New Moon. The sky is full of Water and Earth planetary positions tonight, setting the stage for emotional grounding or regrounding. Light a candle, preferably white (but really whatever color you’re pulled to the most), to amplify the Moon’s radiance and to bring a glow into your space. I don’t know if it’s just me, but the coming of winter seems darker this year. Shine a light, if you’re so inclined.

Also in Capricorn, Venus moves to join Pluto and brings us a deep look at how we’ve structured intimacy and the intensity of love with a partner in our lives. With both planets and the Moon square Uranus in Aries, expect fireworks, sudden epiphanies, and possibly very sudden changes in dynamics – all for better or worse. Try to hold on to the balance of your love for the other person and love for yourself through any turbulence, and as always, find the truth, wisdom, and opportunity for evolution in any experience this tension might bring. Pluto likes to figure out where power is; remember that the power is in our openness to love.

If you are not in a relationship at present, you may experience these powerful forces fully on an internal plane in regard to romantic or non-romantic parts of your life. It may be time to be starkly honest with yourself about what you truly want and how you may be sabotaging yourself from experiencing it. It may be time to move forward in your career by recommitting to education or picking up and changing where you are so that you can reestablish yourself in a place that better fits the path on which you want to be.

Jupiter in Cancer turns retrograde just past midnight at 12:03am EST and remains retrograde until March 6, 2014. Jupiter is the natural ruler of Sagittarius and represents growth, expansion, seeking higher knowledge, justice, and foreign travel. Retrograde, this planet offers us an internal journey, expansion, and growth within rather than in respect to our larger place in the world. Coupled with the influence of sensitive Cancer energy, we’re steered toward internal exploration even more. It’s a time we’re gifted with the chance to strengthen and increase our internal space, which will inevitably enlarge and enrich the outer space around us, as well.

11/4/13: Mmm-K. You know all that stuff you’ve told yourself about yourself ever since you realized life hurts? Like, “I’m gonna ignore what just happened and distract myself with something else because I don’t know how to deal with it” or “I’ve definitely outgrown all of that painful energy from childhood” or “If I hide this part of myself really well then chances are no one will ever notice and I’ll be one of the gang” or “Maybe if I put all of my attention on healing and nurturing everyone around me my own wounds will heal”.

Yeah…no.

If you’re feeling thrown into your center lately – and I mean your real center, not the one we pretend is our center – you might know what I mean.

Be warned, your first reactions may be very petty, low-based, and defensive. This is our initial contact with deep, intimate, sussing-out-the-bullshit Scorpio transformation and evolution. It scares us and we deny, deny, deny. How evolved do you want to become, though? Because to get there, you have to drop the petty shit.

Scorpio/Pluto is your power center; it’s where you go the furthest. It’s where you’re beautifully ugly. It’s where you destroy yourself, and sometimes those around you, too. How else do we know our own strength until we’ve faced and accepted our shadows? They’re there. It does no good to pretend they’re not. So learn your limits. Learn what you’re willing to sacrifice, and for what you will fight to the death.

And then, compassionately, let go of excuses. Walk through your fear.

Every energy is only temporary, so carpe diem. Seize today and allow the energy of this moment to clear your hidden concerns and consciously set the foundation for your future. Lovingly raze the ground of your subconscious – that quiet part of us that has so much control over our choices – to make it fertile again, to make room for growth. For like all moments this, too, shall pass.

(That said, Mercury remains in retrograde until 11/10, so hold off on any major declarations until after then. Just marinate in them for a few more days… )

11/1/13: Scorpio intensity continues… tomorrow at 1:34pm EDT the Moon will join North Node, Sun, Mercury, and Saturn in Scorpio, and becomes a New Moon on Sunday at 7:49am EST (don’t forget to set your clocks back). This dark Scorpio New Moon will participate in a rare hybrid solar eclipse, also on Sunday, 11/3, which will manifest as both an annular – or, “ring of fire” – eclipse and a total eclipse.

What is the shadow side of your ego, the part of who you are that you resist acknowledging the most? What are you most afraid of about yourself? This is the time to notice. When we’re willing to look at those things, we discover the keys to our individual power.

Our shadow sides, what we perceive as undesirable or dark or bad, are where our potential for growth, transformation, and evolution are found. When we’re willing to take those honest looks at ourselves – painful as they are – and we step courageously and with radical honesty in front of the mirror, we begin the process of making whole what we’ve allowed up to that point to remain fragmented in both our inner and outer lives.

I don’t believe we’re meant to live splintered into a thousand pieces, denying parts of us exist when it seems convenient or safer to do so. To effect the powerful sum of our whole selves, we have to learn how to be, well, whole. We do this work within ourselves in our own ways, on our own timetables.

Acknowledging the less seemly instincts, urges, and emotions within is not the same as indulging them. Sitting with our baser selves doesn’t mean cheering those parts of us on or rationalizing away the ignoble actions they sometimes spur us to take. Nope. It’s recognizing within each of us the vast expanse of potential from creation to destruction and everything in between. Given optimal circumstances, anyone is capable of almost anything. Without ignoring any part of ourselves, we must choose our actions, words and thoughts wisely, and from a point of educated openness.

Scorpio’s ruling planet Pluto is in system-structuring Capricorn and remains square to Uranus in blaze-a-new-trail Aries. Uranus rules Aquarius - the Age that we’re evolving into at present* – and through the Prometheus myth brings fire to mankind. Fire represents advancements in technology, creativity, passion, creation and destruction, and alignment with Spirit through intuition and inspiration.

But to deliver fire, something’s got to burn; for the fire to live, something has to be destroyed. In the myth, it was Prometheus’s freedom. With the current interaction between Pluto and Uranus, I’m feeling that now what may need to burn are our attachments to all of our stale ideas of authority and power based on old systems and structures that now hurt more than help. On an individual level, within each of us, it’s time to reassign the designation of authority.

To whom do you give your power away? Friends, relatives, spouses, bosses, media ideals, money-hungry corporations, defunct government systems, or your own ego-based satisfactions? Maybe it’s time to take it back, and all of the intense energy present in Scorpio is here to tell us we deserve it – not because we’re better than anyone else or deserve it more, but because we are willing to see the complexities and universality of our human selves and not run when we find what we fear is within us. We can develop our ability to let go of fear, and our power to heal into the whole.

Through the transformation of that fear – burning it away into the refinement of our true selves, we can set the course for the years to come. The opposition of Mars in Virgo to the Neptune/Chiron conjunction in Pisces indicates it’s not the time for overt action, but instead is the time for reflection and creative dreaming of how our service to ourselves and humanity can heal our wounds individually and collectively.

10/30/13: Seems most people I know are feeling Mercury’s influence quite powerfully right now.

Let’s take a quick look at why:

~ Mercury is retrograde (slow down, re-evaluate)

~ Mercury is in Scorpio conjunct Saturn, North Node, and the Sun, also all in Scorpio (set deeper, stronger boundaries that keep you true to yourself and your life’s path)

~ Mercury is trine Jupiter in Cancer (the importance and growth of your physical home and inner psyche) and trine the Neptune/Chiron conjunction in Pisces (clear intuition that can heal your inner wounds)

~ Mercury is sextile Pluto in Capricorn (speak powerfully and be your own CEO) and sextile Mars in Virgo (actively serving yourself and others and strengthening your feminine side)

~ Mercury/Sun conjunction in Scorpio is quincunx Uranus in Aries, and along with Mars in Virgo create a yod (ie, “finger of God”)

Mercury rules two Air signs (Gemini and Virgo) but is at present deeply entrenched in the watery forces of Scorpio. Overall in the sky right now, there is a deficit of talkative, breezy Air energy and a plethora of Water. Water makes us feel and pulls us into our inner oceans of emotion. Scorpio, in particular, drags us into the coldest, darkest depths within us and turns us toward what we like most to keep hidden.

But, it’s still up to us to actually look.

Today, we are given the opportunity to connect consciously with our intuition – that “knowing” within us that is always a part of who we are, thrumming along at a constant pulse, often ignored, underrated, or eschewed. The alignment in the sky right now offers us wisdom if we truly want it, and that may mean navigating murky waters. Spend time alone today.

The “finger of God” is pointing at the rebel Uranus in fiery, integrity-driven Aries. Burn off the excess water today with the truth. Allow the courage of standing alone at times – if necessary – to be enough, if the reason you’re there is to be true to who you are and what you need. Set boundaries with your words and serve others by allowing your own integrity to develop first, so that you will have it later to offer back into the world.

Light it up.

10/24/13: Today’s a doozy for dredging up the past. Lots going on in Water elements: Neptune and Chiron in Pisces, the Moon and Jupiter in Cancer, and the Sun/North Node/Saturn/Mercury all in Scorpio. There’s a temporary Grand Trine in Water tonight, too.

The Moon in Cancer hearkens to emotions from last week, last year, last decade, or beyond. Personally, I’ve had a childhood emotion triggered today…and it’s not a particularly fun one. However, the Sun is in Scorpio and is, along with Saturn (setting structure) and Mercury (communications) also in Scorpio, bringing opportunity to transform that fucker and make it into something new and better. And Mercury in retrograde is a reminder to re-evaluate, re-visit, and re-define.

Here are a few reality check reminders I had today on managing interactions. These apply to us all:

~no matter how you think you behaved, someone else can have an entirely different (and not necessarily flattering) interpretation of it

~even if you had good intentions, the interpretation by others often won’t account for them considering other people generally can’t read your mind

~everyone comes to the table with their own assumptions, wounds, and preset feelings

~sometimes “letting it go” doesn’t work without first facing the situation.

I went to yoga today and my friend Jenny was teaching. Although she was speaking to the class as a whole and did not know what kind of day I’d had, she said the perfect thing, and just what I needed to hear.

“Stop defending yourself.”

That along with a bigger-picture talk with another friend set me upright again.

You can’t fight water. When enough of it hits you, you either flow with it or drown. So instead of treading to exhaustion against the current and obsessing over the details of why I feel wronged, eventually drowning in anger and frustration, I’m going to remember we’re all just human and ride the wave. No one has it figured out.

I’m going to stop defending myself, and just be myself…and hope that fucking works.

And this one I’m not resisting:

10/18/13:Tonight at 7:37pm EDT is a Full Moon in Aries AND also a lunar eclipse. Remember, the idea of any eclipse is to bring forth the shadow side of a situation, personality, or environment. It is an opportunity to more clearly see the whole picture and to integrate the dark/light, feminine/masculine, yin/yang energies into one.

This Full Moon tonight is also the Hunter’s Moon. The eclipse tells us our hunting grounds are within, so think of everything standing in your way of reaching your true self and full potential as your prey. It is the terrain of your inner self that is illuminated longer for you tonight.

Being that the Moon’s energy aligns with fiery, headstrong Aries (whose opposing sign is the balancing, social, harmonizing Libra), tonight brings a culmination of “what have you done for you lately?”focus. In life, we often become so patterned to “be nice”, accommodate others, and make peace – all behaviors I highly recommend and agree with in essence. However, if doing so becomes out of balance with honoring your own needs, desires, and personal ethics…then this Full Moon is here to remind you it’s time to come back to your center. Aries is a natural loner, thinker, and doer. How much of yourself have you compromised?

In the dark of this eclipse, meditate to find light on your path.

Esoterically, Aries is often associated with the Fool. It takes courage, often blindly, to be the first to take a step into new territory; but without that instinct, we’d never get anywhere. It’s the first sprout of green in spring emerging through the still cold ground, pushing and reaching for the Sun, a paradoxical alignment of fragile innocence and all of the momentous energy of creation.

We are all on this journey of the Fool. Where is the fertile ground in your life yet to be breached?

It is all the more important for each of us to use this opportunity to align emotionally with ourselves in the next few days, as Mercury in Scorpio goes retrograde next week on 10/21 and remains so until 11/10, and communications will become deeply – and perhaps disastrously – disrupted. The Sun also moves into Scorpio at 2:09am EDT on 10/23, bringing a surge of energy into our relationship to our power within.

In other words, what we decide now is powerful and is going to stick for a while. Tonight, quiet your mind, clear the distractions away, find your center, and get ready to take a Fool’s leap into your life. The only power you’ll ever have to express is your own. Align with it, and in doing so you will be a part of balancing the energy of All.

10/05/13: Happy (morning after) New Moon! Last night at 8:34 EDT we had a New Moon in Libra. With the Sun also in Libra they are conjunct, and together form a cardinal Grand Cross with Uranus in Aries, Pluto in Capricorn, and Jupiter in Cancer. Tension, anyone? Wanting to get things started but feeling stuck?

In addition, Venus, Saturn, North Node, and Mercury are all in Scorpio; Saturn, North Node, and Mercury are all conjunct – Mercury and North Node exactly so. You are speaking your karma right now, so watch your words and mold your thoughts with your highest intentions. Speak only the truth and trust whatever you call the Divine to be there for you and with you, and most importantly, as you. Whatever change you want will originate from you first, so live accordingly and let the healing begin (Neptune/Chiron conjunction in Pisces). The power you have is to open up within yourself.

We need tension. It’s the force that pulls back the bow string and holds it taught before a successful launch of the arrow of our intentions. We’re poised right now to be passionately powerful about what we love most, but we need to pause first to heal and align with our true intentions.

What does that mean for you?

9/30/13: The Moon and Mars are conjunct in Leo today, adding some spice and fire to the moment, while Mercury (conjunct now with Saturn) slid into Scorpio yesterday at 7:38am EDT, bringing a taste for sarcasm and a bit of the dark side to the table. We need that side, too.

The power of Mercury in Scorpio is to dig up mentally all the things we try to deny, bury, rationalize, or otherwise intellectually dismiss – like old wounds (particularly sexual ones), imbalances of power in relationships, and our psychic shadows. Psychic shadows are the bad juju we carry around yet pretend we don’t; you haven’t “been in a bad mood” for five years…you’re denying and avoiding a change in your life.

Instead of dealing with the energetic blocks keeping you from connecting to that massive source of power inside of you, you’ve been trying every trick in the book to talk yourself out of it. But what you feel is real is real to you, and since nobody else is living your life, it’s time to take off the mask and look into the mirror. What do you want make more powerful in your life? What do you have to let go of to make that happen?

Today’s strong Leo vibe is a good day to give it a shot. Leo is connected to the solar plexus chakra and our sense of self, our confidence, our ego, and our autonomy. That doesn’t mean we have to like what we see, but it does give us a decent shot at having the courage to look. View yourself through eyes of compassion, and keep in mind fairness to yourself as much as you’d grant it to anyone else using the Sun’s energy while it’s still in Libra.

And above all, find a connection today that brings you true pleasure. Maybe that’s a latte, or an amazing meal, or 30 minutes by yourself without distraction, or a glass of wine, or an awesome workout. Find the value in your enjoyment of that moment, because the next might not bring it. And through both, you are ok.

9/18/13: Good Lawd, Phil Collins – I can feel it coming in the air tonight. That Pisces Full Moon…

Ok, actually tomorrow morning, 7/19, at 7:12am EDT – but I’ve been feeling this Moon’s effect for a few days now.

You may be feeling it, too, if you have prominent Pisces, twelfth house, or Neptune energy in your chart.

What is “it”?

It can be a couple of things:

1) the positive side: dreamy, creative, flowing energy; the desire to dance and have a deeper connection to music; heightened intuition; heightened extrasensory perception and communication; feeling connected to the Divine; faith in the oneness of everything; healthy and balanced compassion for self and others

2) the not-so-positive side: self-victimizing, playing the martyr; turning to alcohol/drugs/addictions for escape; being ungrounded and out of touch with the material world; financial loss or uncertainty; unclear communication and misreading intentions of others; a lack of clear boundaries or getting lost in other people or situations

Pisces Full Moon offers an excellent opportunity to connect with your intuition, but you have to be willing to hear it. Can you sense energy around you? Can you see ghosts? Do you have vivid, super-realistic dreams of loved ones who have passed visiting you? You might tonight… So if you do, be open to the experience from a place of light and love and don’t let fear hold you back from a beautiful illumination.

Added to the Moon tonight is that Grand Trine in Water back to visit us: Moon in Pisces, Jupiter in Cancer, and a North Node/Saturn/Venus conjunction at 8 degrees Scorpio. Just when you thought the emotions of the summer had gone, here they are again for a brief encore. Along with this temporary Grand Trine, Pluto in Capricorn is in opposition to Jupiter in Cancer.

Translation: right now you may feel tensely conflicted between wanting to be more powerful at work, in your career, or as head of your household and desiring to expand your presence at home in a more nurturing way. Set loving boundaries for your time that are as fair as they can be to both parties (you and your family). If it comes down to a difficult decision, go for the one that provides the most fun, the best opportunity to lighten the mood, and builds the relationships that matter most.

With Mars in the leadership sign of Leo, you may find in the near future that your behavior at work or in a parental role, which you thought was powerful and constructive, was being interpreted as too aggressive by everyone around you. Back off a little to get a clearer picture of how you’re being seen by others. Pluto in Capricorn goes direct this Friday, 9/20, at 11:28am EDT, so the setbacks you’ve been feeling could start to turn around if you’ve allowed those issues the space they needed to do so.

Don’t forget the Autumn Equinox is this Sunday, 9/22, when the Sun moves into Libra at 4:44pm EDT.

444, as it turns out, is an angel number. As we collectively transition from Summer to Fall, we have a host of positive energy making the shift with us.

And finally, did you know it may rain diamonds on Neptune and Uranus? A random and perhaps useless fact, but I just love the thought of diamond rain. Is there a girl alive who wouldn’t want a pendant from Neptune or a ring from Uranus?

9/11/13: Before getting into the astrology of the Current Sky today, I’m taking a moment to remember the events of 9/11/2001 and all of the people affected by both the horrific hate and anger and the beautiful heroism, sacrifice, and love expressed on that clear Tuesday morning twelve years ago. My heart goes out to those still struggling with the aftermath on a daily basis. Namaste.

Two happenings in the sky this morning: the waxing (almost first quarter) Moon moved to Sagittarius at 2:35am EDT and Venus into Scorpio at 2:15am EDT.

A Sagittarian Moon needs emotional movement and freedom and can’t stand to have to explain itself ad nauseum (in its perspective). It seems superficial and noncommittal from the outside because it’s always looking for its next target that it hopes will help express itself in a new way, to greater depth, or with a fresh perspective. So for the next couple of days, this energy may influence how you’re feeling in a noticeable way. Go with it – use the strengths of Sagittarius energy to broaden your philosophies in life, travel somewhere new, or seek justice in difficult situations.

Beware the urge to emotionally tap into the opposite urges Sagittarius can lead you towards – the hedonistic, lustful, aggressive, lower-level satisfactions…unless that’s what you need right now. We’ve all got to cut loose occasionally.

Venus into Scorpio means a deeper – and likely darker – look at love with plenty of intensity, possessiveness, and obsession. Any feelings of love or hate you have right now can become magnified with this effect in direct proportion to whether you’re primarily feeling love or fear.

If you were born with Venus in Scorpio, Venus in the eighth house, or Venus in significant aspect to Pluto (trine, conjunct, square, opposite) then you, especially, may be affected. Focus on the positive if you feel a heightened need for a love connection. You may also be inspired to surround yourself with beauty in your life in general. That beauty can take a physical form like a massage, a good meal, or good company – or a more aesthetic form such as finding the beauty in the world around you and bringing it consciously into your life through placing flowers on your counter, visiting an art museum, or appreciating whatever speaks to your heart.

Conversely, recognize when you want vengeance or to take someone else down. Realize that has more to do with you than them, and karma is watching.

As Venus passes by Saturn soon there may be ground rules in place for how you express your “love” side. You may find yourself fighting for commitment, answers, a new structure put in place, or an old one torn down.

Last but not least is an honorable mention to Mercury for moving into Libra on 9/9 at 3:07am EDT. The planet Mercury rules the signs Gemini and Virgo and governs how we communicate with both other people and the Divine, all forms of communication (art, dance, written, spoken, technological), short distance travel, and how we learn. In Venus-ruled Libra, Mercury enjoys an airy time of talking with friends, finding the balance in how we speak and listen, and strives for harmony.

But as mentioned above, the Libra-ruling planet Venus has moved into Scorpio, so beware your urges to backbite, gossip, spread rumors, or hurt with your words. The energy of Scorpio will show us our ugly sides, and any time we put others down we are behaving in very, very ugly ways.

Each of us has our own path to walk, and energy put towards strengthening our higher minds and opening our hearts in ways that bring light to ourselves and others is much better spent for everyone.

9/5/13: It’s official: Jupiter and Neptune have broken up their summer love (trine) and the Water Grand Trine is no more. What were those lofty, beautiful dreams you were having? Do they really have to be over? Of course not! Now it’s time for forward movement, though – daydreaming time is done.

Today, Sun and Moon are exactly conjunct (13 degrees Virgo) because we just had a New Moon at 7:36am EDT – as in, a few minutes ago. Remember, New Moons are for going within, connecting with intuition, and gathering the seeds you’ll plant in the next couple of days – the seeds you want to see grow and mature by the Full Moon (which will be 9/19). We have endless cycles of renewal in this physical and psychic experience of life, the Moon’s cycle being an important one to learn to follow, so get in touch with how they work and let them be a part of your guidance system.

Here are some other things going on right now: Saturn in Scorpio is conjunct the North Node in Scorpio, the Virgo Sun/Moon conjunction is trine Pluto in Capricorn and both of those positions are sextile the Saturn/North Node conjunction.

Say what??

Basically, we have a small window of opportunity today to use the alignment of your ego and emotions (thoughts and feelings) with your “I’ve got this” attitude to forge ahead solidly on your personal path of destiny with power, strength, and structure. That doesn’t mean any big changes have to happen today, just know you can handle whatever comes your way with grace, inner connection, and peace.

Just remember that “power” is about you opening up to your true self, not controlling anything external! Work from the inside out and see how your life begins to bloom.

8/30/13: Do you just want to stay home today? Pig out on carbs, read a good book, watch The Princess Bride/Harry Potter/When Harry Met Sally/(fill in your favorite movie here)? It’s a watery, watery day with the Moon in Cancer and the Grand Trine in Water Elements still holding.

Add to that the stress of the Grand Cross in cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, & Capricorn) and you may find everything you do try to get going isn’t going like you planned – too many obstacles. Or maybe that whole “think before you speak” mantra flew out the window this morning on your way to work.

Go back to the basics that nurture you if that’s what you need today. Indulge a little in the self-pampering so you don’t go back out into the world expecting anyone else to do it for you. Take care of yourself emotionally because there’s always going to be more work to do, and you might as well be rested and ready for it.

8/28/13: Last night at 10:05pm EDT the fiery, cardinal planet Mars moved into the fiery, fixed sign of Leo. Mars (ruler of Aries) represents our drives in life – whether that’s our athleticism, anger, aggressiveness, or sex drive. Combining those energies with those of Leo – natural leadership, dramatic, control-oriented, and family-oriented – and you’ve got a charismatic, volatile combination doubling as an agent of change.

What desires are you barely containing in your life right now? What do you wish you were doing?

Mars squaring Saturn in Scorpio (Saturn is still a part of the Water Grand Trine with Neptune in Pisces and Jupiter in Cancer) may be setting some guidelines and rules that must be kept for your transformation to work. I’ve talked a lot recently about the symbolism of the phoenix and that energy is still very present, but there is a path to be followed, and if you wander too far off of it or break too many rules along your journey, you may not have a successful or lasting transformation.

Rules are not your enemies; they are your guides, your watchers. They will help you if you let them.

Remember to include the well being of all of your affected family members, as well as your personal health, in any major decisions or moves you are considering. It may be that you need an inner change more than an outer one, so go to your mat or gym as often as you can, journal, meditate, or take some long walks. When it feels like the pressure in your head and chest may make you explode, it’s because there is a message you’re resisting – you’re not yet quieting your body and mind enough to hear it.

The Moon is in Gemini today, which is the perfect time to listen to your intuition…listen to the Divine. Mercury/Hermes (planet/god of Gemini) is the communicator between gods and mankind, and he may be bringing you a message. Be sure to keep your sense of humor though, as he’s known for his and can be a bit of a trickster! When your head gets confused, lead with your heart.

8/22/13: The Moon moved into Pisces at 12:43am EDT on 8/21. As we continue to bask in the light of the now-waning Full (and Blue!) Moon from Tuesday, we will transition into Sun in Virgo at 7:01pm EDT tonight.

Virgo is often seen as the sign of the mother, but Cancer really fits that description better. Virgo energy is indeed feminine and earthy, yet many Virgos are more comfortable pursuing their individual desires in life – to perfection, of course – that have nothing to do with having babies. Virgo is a time to pay extra attention to your physical health, your daily routine, working habits, and work environment. It’s the little things that shape us.

For the next 30 days, eat your veggies, clean your desk, and notice the details of what’s around you. Get rid of anything extraneous and keep only what’s working! Also, Virgos are renowned for their polite, affable, and socially conscientious manners and using them to help or serve others, often in the healthcare, food, or beauty industries. Use the energy to brush up on your interpersonal courtesies, aka – practice being nicer to people.

On a side note, the Sun emitted Coronal Mass Ejections on Tuesday that should reach us in the next day or so. CME’s are solar flares that, while supposedly staying safely outside of our atmosphere, may interact electromagnetically with Earth and our beloved technologies including GPS and power grids. So if your iPhone, laptop, or tv seems a little bonkers in the near future, take it as a sign to focus on a few of the humans and animals in your life and ride it out.

8/20/13: Can you feel it? We’re hours away from the second Full Moon in Aquarius during 2013′s ride through Sun in Leo, peaking tonight at 9:44pm EDT. The Moon reflects solar rays, giving us a chance to absorb them in a more subtle and emotional way. The energy of Moon in Aquarius is unique, quirky, funny, humanitarian, eccentric, rebellious, compassionate, stubborn, inventive, and prefers to be alone.

For the next couple of days, honor those traits in yourself even if they aren’t characteristics you would normally associate with your personality. Be flexible enough to see yourself and what’s around you from a broader perspective, be open to accepting what makes you uniquely you, and most importantly have a sense of humor about all of it.

There is a cardinal Grand Cross involving Pluto in Capricorn, Jupiter in Cancer, Venus in Libra, and Uranus in Aries. We’ve all got to find balance in our lives between who we are and those we love; most days it feels like somethings got to give. We get through some days better when we take time to focus on ourselves, and some days focusing on others takes precedence. The trick is figuring out when.

Relax, take a few steps back, listen to your intuition, and take a moonbath tonight.

8/15/13: Both the Sun and Moon are in fiery signs today – Leo and Sagittarius, respectively – but here in Charlotte, things are definitely cooler than usual! We get to enjoy a cold front bringing highs in the low 70′s through the weekend…in mid-August, of all things. With the cooler and invigorating breezes we’re making our collective way from the First Quarter Moon yesterday toward the Gibbous Moon on Saturday. What are you doing to put your plans in motion?

Today is the time to use the higher-mind expansion a Sag Moon offers and follow your gut feelings passionately as you draw your bow, aim, and shoot arrows towards the stars. Where are you a natural leader, and what will it take for you to shine there? Despite our cooler weather, there is a Grand Trine in Fire today (Uranus in Aries, Mercury in Leo, Moon in Sagittarius) where, frankly, anything can happen. Use the energy wisely, purposefully, and with the best intentions; your temper may be quicker than usual today. Fire can either transform you into a more evolved state, or leave you a pile of ashes. Harness the flame you feel and let your inner phoenix fly.

7/31/13: The Moon moves into Gemini today at 11:41am EDT and moves from last quarter phase into Balsamic on Friday at 3:40pm EDT. What are your present goals? What are you bringing into your reality? What can you let go of to speed that along? Use the next few days to speak your truth out loud, even if – especially if – no one else is in the room. Don’t worry; the universe is always listening.

Allow the strength of your intentions to be carried vibrationally through your voice and into the physical plane, moving up from your lower chakras of intention, your heart chakra of balance, and through your throat chakra of expression. Meditate, breathe, let go, and get ready for the New Moon and cycle of growth in the coming weeks to bring forth that on which you are now focusing.

7/22/13: Happy Full Moon Day! The word “Monday” means “Moon day”. There’s a lot shifting going on (all EDT): Full Moon is at 2:15pm, the Sun goes into Leo at 11:55am, the Moon goes into Aquarius at 2:06pm, and Venus went into Virgo at 8:40am. And it’s my mom’s bday. Whew!

I’ll attempt to sum all that up in one (long) sentence: Today, your loving heart and sharp intuition will keep you and those you love in good working order with all the “i’s” dotted and “t’s” crossed, just remember to take advantage of that surge of creativity you’ll be downloading from the Universe – put on a good bass beat and dance it out until you know what step to take next. For me, I’m adding “and call your mother”.

Oh, and Mercury came out of retrograde two days ago on 7/20 at 2:22pm. Commence communications!

7/15/13: Ego-based tension should feel some relief now that the opposition between the Sun and Pluto has passed. Continue to choose words carefully and listen as much as possible, though, as the opposition between Mercury and Pluto is still intact. The first-quarter Moon places emotions in harmony-seeking Libra today, but transitions into power-conscious Scorpio tomorrow. The majority of planets in the sky are in cardinal (getting things started) energy, so it’s a good day to act on what you think is fair. With the Moon in opposition to Uranus in Aries, make sure you can roll with the unexpected punches.

7/12/13: Today is the waxing crescent Moon in Virgo; extra attention to the details may feel right as the Moon’s energy grows, whether that’s eating more healthily, dressing more sharply, or taking the time to find your coupons before you go to the store. I always forget to do that.

Tomorrow Mars moves into Cancer and joins the Sun, Mercury, and Jupiter. Mars and Jupiter are still part of Grand Trines (positive triangular tension) with Saturn in Scorpio and Neptune in Pisces. All of that Water energy means a flowing of feelings, feminine energy, and intuition. You may have the urge to reconsider your connection to what you consider Spirit to be, and also be ready to strengthen that connection by actively searching for answers that feel right to questions you’ve long had.

A standoff between the Sun/Mercury conjunction in Cancer with Pluto in Capricorn is still holding, so allow that talking too much without listening may inhibit you from getting what you want. Also, it may be you do find success, but not as you originally planned or in a way that serves your ego…so be adaptable and, like Water, morph into the situation (container) rather than trying to make a situation take the shape of you. You never know – it could be a better fit.

7/8/13: Oh, boy – it’s a busy sky today. New Moon in Cancer this morning at 3:14am, Saturn in Scorpio turned direct at 1:11am, and the Moon, Mercury, and the Sun are conjunct in Cancer. If you haven’t heard me say it by now, here’s as clearly as I can: embrace your intuition!

As its ruling planet, the Moon is at home in the watery, sensitive sign of Cancer. A New Moon implies the beginning of yet another cycle of growth – plant your seeds figuratively and literally and watch them grow until they blossom at the Full Moon in Aquarius on 7/22 (just after the Sun moves into Leo). What do you wish for in life? What are your heart’s true desires? Begin your quest on the fertile ground of this maternal New Moon, and trust the Universe to bring you what you need, even if it’s not what you expected.

Saturn in Scorpio has been retrograde since February but is now moving “forward” again. The roadblocks you’ve encountered in business, the deeper parts of yourself you were forced to face, and the power struggles within which you’ve been locked should all feel a shift – a loosening – today. Be ready for those things to flow again; I hope you were able to set the right boundaries for yourself during the past five months, because that’s the structure within which you’ll be working now!

As for the combined energy of the Moon, Mercury, and the Sun in Cancer, you likely are feeling a lot right now – your emotions are likely in tune with your ego and rational thoughts, and your chosen forms of communication are likely to be more Cancer-like. That means if you feel safe, secure, loved, and provided for then you’ll be a doll – a dream of nurturing, kind, and caretaking energy to be around. However, should you feel insecure, unsafe, unloved, or uncared for then you probably have your crab claws out today and are snapping them at everyone and everything around you. All you want to do is retreat into your shell (your home) and be left alone. If that’s how you feel, then do it! Give yourself the time you need to heal and regroup; no need to set yourself up to create unnecessary power struggles (Moon/Sun/Mercury opposite Pluto in Capricorn) or to freak out at the unexpected (Moon/Sun/Mercury square Uranus in Aries).

Give yourself a break, give your feelings some space to breathe before unloading them on who’s around you, make (flexible) plans for your future, and allow your inner wisdom – that guiding voice inside – to wash over you like the tide. Hear it, feel it, bathe in it.

7/4/13: Happy 4th of July! Today marks the 237th birthday of the U.S.A. Quite a lot has happened since 1776, and the changes keep coming. I’m grateful that whatever issues we face today as a country, we are still facing them as a country – with the freedom to disagree, debate, and transcend our differences. Maybe the simple delights of today – good food, good company, and the warmth of summer – will remind us that a decent amount of the beauty in life comes down to those…and fireworks!

Astrologically, it’s a Balsamic Moon in Gemini, which translates in part to keeping your thoughts to yourself and letting them marinate a little before you share them. Gemini Moon wants to express how it feels, but the Balsamic phase says meditate, let go, and allow the space for renewal that will come in a few days with the New Moon on Monday (Moon-day), 7/8.

Also, we’re still in Mercury Retrograde (read below for more on that), and Mercury is Gemini’s ruling planet. In other words, it’s a great day to sit back, listen, and choose words carefully so that when you do speak, your communication is clear. And with Mercury’s potential for divine communication, you may even have an epiphany or two if you give your intuition the quiet space it needs.

6/26/13: So it’s official; as of 9:07am EDT this morning, Mercury went retrograde and will be there until 7/20/13, 2:22pm EDT. Basically, watch for technological glitches, general miscommunications and mixups, hold off signing contracts, and wait until after 7/20 for that first date. It’s a great time, however, for research, reviewing, reorganizing, and any other “re-” event you want to explore. If you’d like to read more about it, Cafe Astrology’s site gives a decent explanation (longer than fits here): http://www.cafeastrology.com/mercuryretrograde.html

Other than that, the Grand Trine in Water (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces) is holding strong, and now the Sun in Cancer is directly opposite Pluto in Capricorn. Keep an eye open to the possibility of a big change in life coming soon. You may also notice that your sense of competition is higher than normal – Sun opposition Pluto can bring extreme measures to win and ego-based battles for control. Try to stop feeling threatened (it’s usually more in your head than in reality) or reacting negatively to the human fact that you’re vulnerable. Embrace the strength of surrender and flow with whatever comes next; there is bound to be a bigger picture to whatever you’re facing. Turn your energy towards helping others, because everyone offers a lesson.

6/23/13: It’s the morning of the Super-Duper Moon! Even more meaningful than the “Super Moon” because not only does the lunar perigree bring our satellite closest to Earth today, but that happens within one hour of it being full.

Those two occurrences don’t often coincide! If you’re at the beach today, check out high and low tides – they’re bound to be noticeably high and noticeably low as the Super-Duper Moon is also combined with monthly spring tides, which usually do that by themselves. The Moon was full at 7:32 this morning EDT, but no worries – it will still look larger than normal tonight, so enjoy your moon-gazing! Read more about it in this article:

Astrologically, the Moon is in Capricorn for the next couple of days, so you may feel the urge to organize and prioritize emotionally – it’s a “take charge” kind of influence that helps you put some structure around how you feel even if you don’t want to talk about it right now. That’s perfectly fine; it’s important to take the time you need, especially with Mercury going retrograde on the morning of 6/26. You’ll need all your ducks in a row when you come back to the table if you want change to happen in ways that benefit you (particularly career-wise).

6/21/13: Happy Summer Solstice – the beginning of summer and longest day of sunshine of the year!! The signs shifted early this morning at 1:03am EDT from Gemini into Cancer. There is still a Grand Trine in Water between Sun in Cancer, Saturn in Scorpio, and Neptune conjunct Chiron in Pisces. One of the things that means is it’s still a good time to get to the bottom of things emotionally – to suss out the deeper meanings of how you’re feeling because you can now establish healthy boundaries.

Nurturing your body will help to strengthen that mind-body connection, as well. Cancer energy loves a good meal, preferably home-cooked or a dish that’s piping hot with nostalgia for the good old days, to enjoy while you’re spending time with people you love. The Moon in Sagittarius should help set the stage for a great philosophical discussion. After that, it may be firefly-catching time…

6/17/13: As things get going this morning there is still a Grand Trine in the Water signs, so keep going with the flow emotionally. Follow your intuition to take it easy, and maybe go to lunch with a good friend. This morning is perfect for meditating – maybe set up a quiet space, take a few minutes to breathe deeply and get centered, and then relax into 10-20 minutes of meditation. The Moon is in Libra, so you may find that you’re seeking emotional balance and harmony in your surroundings. Mercury goes retrograde again on 6/26 until 7/20; sign any contracts, close any deals, and say what you need to before then.

6/14/13: With the Sun in Gemini conjunct Jupiter, now is a wonderful time to read, learn, write, play music, and otherwise communicate in big ways that bring people together. And with four planets in Water signs (Saturn, Neptune, Venus, and Mercury), expressing how you feel is key. As many people end school years and graduate, the aspects look fantastic for celebrating. The Moon will be in Virgo until the 16th, so the more you are of service to others until then, the better you’ll feel. Uranus in Aries in the sixth house encourages us to shake up our daily routines and be inspired by intuitively changing how we do things – go ahead and put on your pants today with the other leg first.